„Ich bringe euch in die Wüste der Völker“ (Ez 20,35)

Among many other peculiarities of the Book of Ezekiel, the numerous movements and spatial terms mentioned in it stand out. Using the cultural-anthropological concept that underlies rites of passage and related transitional phenomena (A. van Gennep, V. Turner) some of them can be taken as elements of a transitional process. Therefore, the spatial structure in Ezek. 20 and in the overall layout of the Book of Ezekiel is used to illustrate that the Babylonian exile is a necessary liminal phase of the transition from Israel’s status as an apostate people to a new status given by JHWH.

A road to nowhere? The non-transitional sequence at El Esquilleu (Cantabria, Spain)

El Esquilleu cave has one of the most complete Middle Paleolithic stratigraphies of northern Iberia with a complete chronological framework almost continuous from the beginning of MIS3. The complete analysis of the materials including the last section of the sequence corresponding to the last chronological interval of the occupation in the region shows clear evolutionary tendencies by important changes in the composition of the lithic assemblage. Its study confirms a continuous occupation without any gaps during the Mousterian until recent dates but without any Upper Paleolithic presence. This sequence, referenced to the Mousterian settlement of the Picos de Europa mountains, testifies to the existence of a Mousterian presence in northern Iberia with no clear relation to other Cantabrian areas. Consequently, its occupation without a break until the crucial phase of the end of the Middle Paleolithic suggests a non-transitional process in the history of local Neanderthal groups.

The Transitional Justice Model in Colombia vis-à-vis the Inter-American Human Rights SystemAmidst the Conventionality Control and the National Margin of Appreciation

This chapter assesses the international consequences of the transitional justice model in Colombia. It demonstrates that the Colombian transitional justice model, and particularly the integrated system for truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition, are likely to successfully withstand the 'conventionality control' by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ICtHR). The chapter then presents a model to be used by the Inter-American organs when analysing the Colombian transitional justice model. In seeking to accommodate the needs of the transitional process with the demands for justice, the model proposes a harmonizing technique between the notions of 'conventionality control', developed by the Inter-American Court since 2006, and the 'national margin of appreciation' doctrine, developed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). This harmonizing approach would allow States to implement the most adequate mechanisms for the consolidation of a lasting peace scenario.

Political Reconciliation in Light of Global Injustices

This article applies the idea of political reconciliation (and with it the rationale of restorative justice) to current debates on global injustices. My underlying thesis is that the idea of reconciliation fits better to the nonideal circumstances of global exploitation and domination. Originally, political reconciliation defines a transitional process from a state of severe injustice to a state of renewed social peace and cooperation under conditions of serious disagreement and in the absence of a well-ordered social structure. What the theory of political reconciliation has to add to nonideal theorizing is that political stability and unity (both domestically and globally) are to be based on a societal healing process that depends on institutional measures of trust-building, truth telling and forgiveness.