The International Journal of Transitional Justice has issued a call for papers for a special issue on "Transitional Justice and Development." Here's the call:The International Journal of Transitional Justice will be publishing an issue on ‘Transitional Justice and Development’ as its special issue of 2008.
It is widely acknowledged that the relationship between peace-building, transitional justice and development is one that is characterized by mutual dependence in the aftermath of conflict or repression; it is not possible to achieve any one of these goals in isolation from the others.
In the same way that uneven or underdevelopment can be a contributing factor to conflict and cycles of violence, conflict in turn disproportionately affects the poorest within societies as well as destroying or undermining the institutions of governance that are meant to implement state programmes, protect citizens and regulate access to state resources. Transitional justice mechanisms function in this immediate post-conflict environment and share both overlapping as well as mutually dependent goals with many development programmes. For example, development can only sustainably take root in countries with inclusive governance structures and respect for the rule of law; goals that transitional justice mechanisms also seek to address.
The very nature of underdevelopment and poverty creates unique challenges to the goals of transitional justice - in particular how to pursue justice in a context of scarce resources where there may be a tension between ‘dealing with the past’ and building the physical and social infrastructure needed for the future.
In an effort to bridge the gap between the fields of transitional justice, development and peace building, the International Journal of Transitional Justice invites pieces dealing with the theoretical, practical and policy angles of the relationship between transitional justice and development.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
• Establishing good governance through institutional reform post-conflict;
• Accountability for economic and social rights violations;
• The relationship between past conflict and current underdevelopment;
• Redress for targeted underdevelopment as a weapon of conflict;
• Accountability for economic crimes;
• Accountability for non-state actors and economic crimes;
• Reconciliation and development;
• Gender, transitional justice and development;
• The relationship between reparations and development;
• Challenges posed by inequality and underdevelopment to the reintegration of victims, combatants and the forcibly displaced;
• The relationship of transitional justice processes to international development;
• Transitional justice and post-conflict development;
• Transitional justice and international NGOs;
• Transitional justice and domestic legal systems;
• World Bank policies in post-conflict countries and Transitional Justice;
• Health development and Transitional Justice;
• Economic, cultural and social rights and Transitional Justice;
• Poverty and economic development programmes as distributive justice or reparations;
• Security sector reform, rule of law and development;
• The role of justice in post-conflict economic reconstruction;
• The relationship between conflict-sensitive development and reconciliation at a local level.
Authors who would like to submit a paper for consideration should do so by June 15, 2008, at http://www.ijtj.oxfordjournals.org/.
For further information or enquiries please mailto:ijtj@csvr.org.za.
