Political Theory and Transitional Justice

Political Theory and Transitional Justice
GOVERNMENT 355, Spring 2023
Instructor: Sonali Chakravarti
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Transitional justice refers to the variety of legal, political, and social processes that occur as a society rebuilds after war; it includes war crimes trials, truth commissions, and the creation of memorials. Although the term “transitional justice” is a recent one, the philosophical issues contained within it are at the core of political philosophy. What kind of society is best? What is the relationship between political institutions and human nature? What does justice mean? The purpose of this course was to understand the issues of transitional justice from both practical and philosophical perspectives and will include case studies of World War II, South African apartheid, and the genocide in Rwanda.