Overview

Many countries have attempted to transition to democracy following conflict or repression, but the basic meaning of transitional justice remains hotly contested. In this book, Colleen Murphy analyses transitional justice - showing how it is distinguished from retributive, corrective, and distributive justice - and outlines the ethical standards which societies attempting to democratize should follow. She argues that transitional justice involves the just pursuit of societal transformation. Such transformation requires political reconciliation, which in turn has a complex set of institutional and interpersonal requirements including the rule of law. She shows how societal transformation is also influenced by the moral claims of victims and the demands of perpetrators, and how justice processes can fail to be just by failing to foster this transformation or by not treating victims and perpetrators fairly. Her book will be accessible and enlightening for philosophers, political and social scientists, policy analysts, and legal and human rights scholars and activists.

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9781107085473

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Reviews

Advance praise: 'Colleen Murphy develops, and delivers, the bold argument that transitional justice - the way a society reckons with massive human rights abuses - is not ordinary justice. It is not reducible to retributive or restorative principles, nor to case-by-case determinations; rather, it is distinctive justice, because it is concerned with the just pursuit of societal transformation and relational repair. Murphy's book is a game-changer: a must-read for anyone concerned with the theory, practice, and policy of post-conflict rebuilding.' Mark A. Drumbl, Transnational Law Institute, Washington and Lee University, Virginia Advance praise: 'Murphy offers an outstanding analysis. This ambitious book constructs a novel way of conceiving the 'justice' in transitional justice, provoking discussion on a topic that has received little sustained analysis in the burgeoning transitional justice literature.' Margaret Urban Walker, Marquette University, Wisconsin

Author Information

Colleen Murphy is Professor of Law, Philosophy and Political Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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