The field of transitional justice has traditionally focused on addressing large-scale human-rights violations involving murder, torture, kidnapping, and rape. But since violations of economic rights often lead to conflict, are perpetrated during conflict, and continue as a post-conflict legacy, it is crucial to pay greater attention to economic and social rights in the transitional justice context as well. A forceful addition to the peace and justice literatures, Justice and Economic Violence in Transition explores the power and potential inherent in adding issues of economic justice to the transitional justice agenda. New papers by established and emerging scholars analyze post-conflict interventions used in addressing extreme poverty, corruption, and the plunder of natural resources, probing the complex questions these efforts raise at the theoretical, practice, and policy levels. In this nuanced context, economic justice is firmly situated within the larger tasks of peacebuilding, and shown as essential to preventing further violence. Among the topics covered in depth: Reparations and economic, social, and cultural rights.Corruption, human rights, and activism: useful connections and their limits.Connections between transitional justice and economic development.Land policy and transitional justice after armed conflict.Accounting for natural resources in conflict.Financial complicity: the Brazilian dictatorship under the “macroscope.” Major steps towards a more holistic view of transitional justice are both timely and necessary. Justice and Economic Violence in Transition is a unique guide intended for an interdisciplinary audience, appealing to scholars andpolicymakers in fields ranging from conflict resolution, peacebuilding, developmental economics, and political science to international law and human rights.
This book examines the role of economic violence (violations of economic and social rights, corruption, and plunder of natural resources) within the transitional justice agenda. Because
economic violence often leads to conflict, is perpetrated during conflict, and continues afterwards as a legacy of conflict, a greater focus on economic and social rights issues in the transitional justice context is critical. One might add that insofar as transitional justice is increasingly seen as an instrument of peacebuilding rather than a simple political transition, focus on economic violence as the crucial “root cause” is key to preventing re-lapse into conflict.
Recent increasing attention to economic issues by academics and truth commissions suggest this may be slowly changing, and that economic and social rights may represent the “next frontier” of transitional justice concerns. There remain difficult questions that have yet to be worked out at the level of theory, policy, and practice. Further scholarship in this regard is both timely, and necessary. This volume therefore presents an opportunity to fill an important gap. The project will bring together new papers by recognized and emerging scholars and policy experts in the field.
Explores innovative research at the intersection of peacework and economics Assesses important international policy shifts Focuses on a critical emerging topic in the area of transitional justice?
Dustin N. Sharp
economic violence liberal international peacebuilding reparations and economic rights transition to positive peace truth commissions and narratives of conflict