Transitional Justice in Peace Operations: Shaping the Twilight Zone in Somalia and East Timor

2001 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 213-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Internal Conflict ◽  
Military Force ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Order Problem ◽  
State Process ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

Much has been written about transitional justice in the circumstances of organised states progressing towards democracy. Another category of transitional justice demanding equal study and resolution has, however, emerged. That is the interim administration of justice in the vacuum of the disrupted state following traumatic internal conflict, usually involving war crimes and crimes against humanity. Two things are characteristic of this circumstance: first, the requirement for a deployed international military force to do ‘something’ about fundamental law and order while waiting for the civil administrative ‘cavalry’ to arrive; second, the fact that a civil administrative element will eventually have to take over from the military and will also be required to do ‘something’ about the immediate law and order problem but in a manner that leads into the long term reconstruction and ‘end state’ process. In the future, this environment may also include the operation of the International Criminal Court (ICC), where many issues of jurisdiction, investigation, prosecution and the impact on long term rehabilitation will need to be managed.

Explaining the Long-Term Maintenance of a Military Regime: Panama before the U.S. Invasion

1992 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve C. Ropp
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Authoritarian Regime ◽  
Military Force ◽  
International Banking ◽  
Military Regimes ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Military ◽  
Term Maintenance ◽  
The U.S

Before the U.S. invasion of December 1989, Panama experienced one of the longest periods of military rule in the modern-day history of Latin America. While numerous authoritarian military regimes emerged in the region during the 1960s and established for themselves a relatively high degree of autonomy from both domestic and international actors, only those in Panama, Paraguay, and Chile survived until the late 1980s. And of these three surviving military regimes, only Panama's was ended through the application of external military force. For the past several years, there has been considerable discussion of the factors that seem best to account for General Manuel Antonio Noriega's personal ability to resist U.S. pressure from 1987 until 1989 and to largely insulate himself from the political and economic constraints of Panamanian domestic politics. However, much less attention has been devoted to discussion of the factors that explain the long-term maintenance of the military authoritarian regime in existence for fifteen years prior to his assumption of power. This analysis suggests that the long-term maintenance of Panama's military authoritarian regime was due in large part to its ability to acquire substantial amounts of foreign capital. During the 1970s, such capital was preferentially obtained from the international banking community. During the 1980s, it was obtained through illicit activities of various kinds, including participation in the growing international drug trade.

Secretariat

1964 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-131 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Sudden Change ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Military Force ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Member States ◽  
Territorial Integrity ◽  
The Military

Secretary-General U Thant in his Introduction to the Annual Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization, 16 June 1962—15 June 1963 commented that the year under review had been marked by a number of developments which on the whole may be said to have brightened the international outlook and strengthened the UN as a result. According to the Secretary-General, the Cuban crisis provided the UN with the opportunity to help avert what appeared to be impending disaster. Proposals which he had been encouraged to make by a large number of Member States not directly involved in the crisis had the immediate effect of tending to ease the situation. In addition, the UN provided an opportunity, both through the Security Council and the Secretariat, for dialogues among the interested parties. The turn of the year also marked a sudden change for the better in the Congo. As a result the terms of the UN mandate in the Congo as far as the military force was concerned had now largely been fulfilled. External military interference in the Congo had ceased, the territorial integrity of the country had been secured, and law and order had generally been restored and were being maintained, although the situation in one or two areas still was giving some cause for concern.

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick? Veterans in the Political Elite and the American Use of Force

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Gelpi ◽  
Peter D. Feaver
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Military Force ◽  
Militarized Disputes ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

Other research has shown (1) that civilians and the military differ in their views about when and how to use military force; (2) that the opinions of veterans track more closely with military officers than with civilians who never served in the military; and (3) that U.S. civil–military relations shaped Cold War policy debates. We assess whether this opinion gap “matters” for the actual conduct of American foreign policy. We examine the impact of the presence of veterans in the U.S. political elite on the propensity to initiate and escalate militarized interstate disputes between 1816 and 1992. As the percentage of veterans serving in the executive branch and the legislature increases, the probability that the United States will initiate militarized disputes declines. Once a dispute has been initiated, however, the higher the proportion of veterans, the greater the level of force the United States will use in the dispute.

scholarly journals Myanmar's Transition without Justice

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-403
Author(s):  
Catherine Renshaw
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Genocide Convention ◽  
Truth Telling ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
International Court ◽  
The Military

Myanmar’s transition towards a limited form of constitutional democracy is taking place in the absence of national measures to deal with the legacy of massive human rights abuses: without criminal prosecutions for historical crimes; without the establishment of institutions for truth-telling; without reparations. This article considers the escalation of violence against ethnic minorities during the early period of Myanmar’s democratic transition in the context of the claim that transitional justice has the potential to deter future atrocities. First, the article explains why the military, the democratic opposition, Western states, and the United Nations (UN), all accepted that Myanmar’s democratisation should proceed without the establishment of institutions and processes of transitional justice. Second, the article shows how, in the absence of transitional justice, the transitional government attempted to bolster the rule of law by conducting its own investigations into allegations of misconduct by the military and through low-level prosecutions of individual military officers, and explains why this strategy failed. Finally, the article considers the potential impact of recent efforts at the international level to establish accountability, such as the UN Human Rights Council’s establishment of an Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, the International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings related to the crime against humanity of deportation, and the case bought by Gambia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Myanmar’s violation of the Genocide Convention.

scholarly journals Investing in Change: Education, Transitional Justice and Impact in the Colombian Peacebuilding Process

2017 ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Sam Underwood
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Future Generation ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Educational Initiatives ◽  
Future Potential ◽  
Transformative Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sensitive Issues

<p>Investment in educational initiatives as transitional or transformative mechanisms in societies trying to build peace is often limited by several assumptions. First, it is often held as that education is largely a tool of prevention, and that the impact of the initiatives cannot be measured. Second, children are considered only as the «future generation» who will «inherit» the society, reducing their value to their future potential and undermining their agency in the present. Third, since introducing sensitive issues into the formal education system is politically difficult and risks reopening old wounds, it is held that educational initiatives are dependent on, and thus secondary to, a sustained reconciliation or peacebuilding process. As a result of these assumptions, education is often shelved as a long-term, developmental issue in post-conflict societies, and does not benefit from the resources brought by the «peace dividend.» This article seeks to deconstruct these assumptions, and argue that educational initiatives in fact have an observable, measurable, transformative impact on individuals, groups and societies. If this impact is supported and sustained by economic and political investment, education can play a central role in peacebuilding and transformative initiatives.</p><p><strong>Received</strong>: 01 August 2015<br /><strong>Accepted</strong>: 15 October 2015<br /><strong>Published online</strong>: 11 December 2017</p>

scholarly journals Transitional Justice, Institutions and Temporality: Towards a Dynamic Understanding

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Pádraig McAuliffe
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
State Strength ◽  
Plausible Model ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Abstract This article examines the impact of institutionalisation of governance, bureaucracy and rule of law on the timeframes employed for transitional justice. It argues that the urgency of transitional justice has consistently given way to temporally extended justice projects as state strength permits revision of initial leniency in terms of truth, criminal accountability and vetting, while state weaknesses compel the delay of projects pending institutional development or consolidation through long-term peacebuilding missions. Furthermore, a more recent focus on transformative social change that looks at economic root causes of conflict would require states and policy-makers to use a longer, multigenerational timeframe for action. In the absence of theoretical work on how these multi-generational commitments might be realised, this article draws on literature in the field of development to outline a plausible model for how transitional justice, peacebuilding and development are dynamically realised over time. It argues that for transitional justice to be even minimally transformative, it must be embedded in top-down developmental institutions of government sufficiently robust to implement recommendations. It must also be embedded in bottom-up developmental coalitions whose everyday political contests can shape the structure and effects of these institutions over time.

scholarly journals Ditadura e Democracia: o impacto da conciliação sobre as memórias e a constituição da Justiça de Transição no Brasil

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (38) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Garcia Araújo ◽  
José Alves Dias
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Truth Commission ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Special Committee ◽  
Porto Alegre ◽  
De Se ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

Ditadura e Democracia: o impacto da conciliação sobre as memórias e a constituição da Justiça de Transição no Brasil Dictatorship and Democracy: the impact of conciliation on the memories and constitution of Transitional Justice in BrazilAlexandre Garcia Araújo* José Alves Dias**  REFERÊNCIA ARAÚJO, Alexandre Garcia; DIAS, José Alves. Ditadura e Democracia: o impacto da conciliação sobre as memórias e a constituição da Justiça de Transição no Brasil. Revista da Faculdade de Direito da UFRGS, Porto Alegre, n. 38, p. 121-139, ago. 2018. RESUMOABSTRACTO propósito do artigo é demonstrar como o mecanismo da conciliação foi utilizado para superar a ditadura e retornar à democracia, impactando as memórias construídas sobre o período autoritário, e limitando a conformação de uma Justiça de Transição no Brasil. Os debates em torno do tema se acentuaram, sobremaneira, com a formação da Comissão Especial de Mortos e Desaparecidos Políticos, em 1995, a proposição de revisão da Lei de Anistia, em 2010, e a instituição da Comissão Nacional da Verdade (CNV), em 2011. Neste processo, as vítimas e familiares dos atingidos, e os governos de Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva e Dilma Rousseff intentaram, em graus e modos diferentes, promover a investigação e responsabilização pela violação de direitos humanos durante a ditadura militar. No contraponto, permaneceram os participantes do Clube Militar que obliteravam quaisquer iniciativas nesse sentido. Diante da correlação de forças, as memórias registradas, inicialmente contrapostas, foram cedendo lugar a um enquadramento gradativo ao ponto de se tornarem difusas no processo de definição da Justiça de Transição. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate how the conciliation mechanism was used to overcome the dictatorship and to return to democracy, impacting the memories built on the authoritarian period, and limiting the conformation of a Transitional Justice in Brazil. The debates on this theme were especially marked by the formation of the Special Committee on Political Deaths and Disappearances in 1995, the proposal to revise the Amnesty Law in 2010 and the establishment of the National Truth Commission (CNV), in 2011. In this process, the victims and relatives of those affected, and the governments of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, tried in different degrees and in different ways to promote investigation and accountability for human rights violations during the dictatorship military. In counterpoint, the active and reserve military (through the Military Clubs) remained that obliterated any initiatives in this direction. Faced with the correlation of forces, the recorded memories, initially counterposed, gradually gave way to a gradual framework to the point of becoming diffuse in the process of defining the Transitional Justice. PALAVRAS-CHAVEKEYWORDSDitadura. Democracia. Memória. Justiça de Transição.Dictatorship. Democracy. Memory. Transitional Justice.* Professor Substituto da Universidade do Estado da Bahia - UNEB: Campus XX, Brumado-BA. Mestre em Memória, Linguagem e Sociedade pela Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia. Advogado.** Professor Titular no Departamento de História e professor permanente do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Memória: Linguagem e Sociedade (PPGMLS), da Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia.

Enduring Burmese Realities

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renaud Egreteau
Keyword(s):  
National Economy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Moving Target ◽  
Realistic Assessment ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact ◽  
National Reconciliation ◽  
India And China

This chapter seeks to provide a realistic assessment of the other long-term challenges that continue to plague Myanmar. While many are not necessarily hindering democratization, all pose considerable threats to the stability of the country and the long-term process of national reconciliation. Prominent among them is the multifaceted political and social clientelisms that are entrenched in Burmese society. Such is the case for the oligarchical structuration and weaknesses of the national economy, as well as Myanmar’s peculiar geography. This chapter looks at why the country cannot avoid considering the impact that its geopolitical situation has long imposed on its domestic developments. Myanmar’s position at the crossroads of India and China, where politics remains volatile and democratic consolidation is an endlessly moving target, may provide the military with incentives to remain involved in politics.

scholarly journals Unbecoming Veteranship

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-131
Author(s):  
Eva van Roekel ◽  
Valentina Salvi
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
The State ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Military Officers ◽  
Military Institution ◽  
The Military ◽  
Moral Discourses

In post-authoritarian Argentina, veterans who participated in the brutal counterinsurgency of the last dictatorship (1976–1983) inhabit an extremely inconsistent citizenship, alternatively violating and respecting legal rights and entitlements. This article looks at how alternating transitional justice practices and the ever-changing moral discourses about warfare and accountability create highly unstable access to rights, resources, and entitlements for these veterans in Argentina. Th e recent shift toward retribution for crimes against humanity in Argentina has legally consolidated their moral downfall. From being untouchable and exemplary officers until the early 1980s, the now convicted military officers have been demoted twice by the state and the military institution. Based on long-term fieldwork with the convicted officers and their kin, this article traces the contingent relation between the moral and legal practices that underlie this double downfall that constitutes a fluctuating process of un/becoming veteranship for these veterans. Their veteranship, for that matter, depends on highly conflictive and transformative sociopolitical processes that speak to broader moral dispositions surrounding legal rights, entitlements, and worthiness for veterans.

Transitional Justice in Iraq: Learning the Hard Way

2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Daly
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Independent Judiciary ◽  
Saddam Hussein ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between transitional justice and democracy is fraught and complex, and nowhere more so than in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Iraq has experienced a range of transitional justice initiatives, including the trial and execution of its former leader, purges of the civil service and the military, and a series of reconciliation conferences. Yet democracy has not fully taken root and violence continues to plague many parts of the nation on a regular basis. This article argues that initiatives aimed at changing the structure of society – including but not limited to constitutionalism, frequent elections and the development of an independent judiciary – are more likely than purely symbolic efforts to contribute to the consolidation of democracy in the long term. It is these structural developments that have the greatest potential to transform society into a true democracy under the rule of law.

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