Overview

International criminal courts exist to help countries and communities move forward after atrocities and to bring those accused of war crimes to justice. Yet local residents and witnesses often perceive them to lack political legitimacy. Drawn from extensive primary research in Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Kenya, Illegitimate Justice challenges the view that as long as international courts are striving for the concept of justice, establishing legal precedents, and prosecuting war criminals, they are fulfilling their purpose. Through interviews with individuals in the fields of education, law, religion, politics, the media, and civil society, Izabela Steflja listens to the people affected by conflict and by the justice processes meant to repair harm. She reveals how international courts have failed local communities through lack of accountability – even, at times, active disregard. The stories local people tell about international courts differ radically from those the international community tells itself about justice and reconciliation. Combining field research with an original comparative narrative model, Illegitimate Justice will be invaluable reading for people active in post-conflict communities and work, as well as for legal, political, and human rights students and scholars.

Full Product Details

9780228027287

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Steflja's excellent analysis, grounded in deep ethnographic and cross-nationally comparative work, identifies policy-related challenges for those studying reconciliation and justice in post-conflict communities."" Mila Dragojevic, The University of the South ""The international criminal justice system, Steflja argues, has been downplaying local-level processes and dynamics, despite the fact that the system is facing a legitimacy crisis in the very societies it is supposedly helping to overcome past injustices. This book is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of transitional justice."" Chip Gagnon, Ithaca College

“Steflja’s excellent analysis, grounded in deep ethnographic and cross-nationally comparative work, identifies policy-related challenges for those studying reconciliation and justice in post-conflict communities.” – Mila Dragojević, The University of the South “The international criminal justice system, Steflja argues, has been downplaying local-level processes and dynamics, despite the fact that the system is facing a legitimacy crisis in the very societies it is supposedly helping to overcome past injustices. This book is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of transitional justice.” – Chip Gagnon, Ithaca College

Author Information

Izabela Steflja is associate professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University.

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