This research is about the local significance of the Pacification of Ghent in Utrecht between 1576 and 1581. It argues that the Pacification was the crucial treaty for the participation of the...Show moreThis research is about the local significance of the Pacification of Ghent in Utrecht between 1576 and 1581. It argues that the Pacification was the crucial treaty for the participation of the States and city of Utrecht in the Dutch Revolt because of its lack of coherency and clarity. This thesis explores the competing narratives about the meaning of this peace. The analysis focusses on the interests of different groups in city and the reinterpretations of the peace terms in the Pacification within the rapidly developing circumstances of the Dutch Revolt. The main argument is that the act of oblivion in the Pacification was the tacit driving force behind the competition of narratives about legitimacy. The Pacification successfully offered a tabula rasa for the previous decade and became the most important reference for peace negotiation between 1576 and 1581. The “originalist” narrative tried to stay with the Pacification terms as intended when it was signed in 1576; the “clarifying” narrative argued that the cherry-picked peace violations of the royal party – together with the changed circumstances – necessitated an elaboration of the original peace treaty; the “abnegation” narrative used these cherry-picked peace violations of the royal party to highlight the obsolesce of the treaty and framed the treaty’s failure as a reason to abjure king Philip. This last narrative flipped the Pacification on its head; the new continuity with the present was not based on the treaty’s terms but on its violation and frame of belonging to the past.Show less
The thesis examines the factors (experience of communism, secret police, government post-1989 and lustration) that led to the post-1989 transitional justice methods utilised in both Hungary and...Show moreThe thesis examines the factors (experience of communism, secret police, government post-1989 and lustration) that led to the post-1989 transitional justice methods utilised in both Hungary and Estonia.Show less
Considering the global boom in Transitional Justice (TJ) and its bureaucratization since the 1980s, critical multi-disciplinary scholars realised that ‘transitional’ discourses and practices were...Show moreConsidering the global boom in Transitional Justice (TJ) and its bureaucratization since the 1980s, critical multi-disciplinary scholars realised that ‘transitional’ discourses and practices were depoliticizing alternative political perspectives. But although they refer to interrelated phenomena, their language and chief academic objectives diverge, making depoliticization incoherent and under-conceptualized. This paper unifies prior efforts by asking what depoliticization is and tracing its consequences. We present six tentative definitions of depoliticization, categorise them into three types, and incorporate our preferred definition into our methodology. In a case study of TJ and post-transitional activism in Argentina during 1983-1996, we map its occurrence beginning with a depoliticizing move in 1983 by the Alfonsín administration that facilitated the production of Nunca Mas in 1984 and examine its relationship to the marginalization of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a civil society organisation that emerged in response to mass disappearances under the former military junta. We conclude that depoliticization occurred and contributed to marginalization of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, having produced a clear conceptual framework for further applications of depoliticization in contexts of TJ.Show less
The concept of transitional justice is referred to actions taken to redress massive human rights violations after periods of political turmoil, state repression or armed conflict. The process of...Show moreThe concept of transitional justice is referred to actions taken to redress massive human rights violations after periods of political turmoil, state repression or armed conflict. The process of transitional justice is supposed to find the truth about the violations that occurred during a conflict and to create justice for the victims. In Peru, the transitional justice process started after the fall of the regime of former President Alberto Fujimori in 2000, and was supposed to address the human rights violations that occurred during the civil war between the State and the communist guerrilla group called the Shining Path. During Fujimori’s authoritarian regime from 1990 until 2000, there was a high level of political corruption, with branches like the judiciary, Congress, the military, the police, and even the president himself all being very corrupt. The transitional justice process tries to create more transparency and reduce impunity, which could lead to a decrease in the level of corruption. However, corruption is often not considered a human rights violation and therefore not focused on during the transitional justice process.Show less
This paper investigates the role of the 2000 Ugandan Amnesty Act in conflict resolution. Presently, scholars have focused on the role of amnesties in various contexts, yet neglected their role in...Show moreThis paper investigates the role of the 2000 Ugandan Amnesty Act in conflict resolution. Presently, scholars have focused on the role of amnesties in various contexts, yet neglected their role in conflict resolution. As the implementation of amnesties in conflict resolution is becoming increasingly more common, this gap in the literature should be addressed in order to be able to complement the ongoing debate on the value of amnesties. The conflict in Uganda provides for new and ample data that provide further perspective on amnesties as a means for conflict resolution. The Ugandan Amnesty aimed to advance conflict resolution by reintegrating former LRA combatants. To measure whether reintegration has been successful, the successes in social and economic reintegration have been considered. Reintegration has been considered a success in Uganda as the probability of continuation of the conflict has decreased and consequently, the role of the Amnesty can be considered significant.Show less
This thesis discusses the impact of cultural memory and local transitional justice mechanisms on national, regional, and international transitional justice mechanisms. Through analysing the impact...Show moreThis thesis discusses the impact of cultural memory and local transitional justice mechanisms on national, regional, and international transitional justice mechanisms. Through analysing the impact of murals and memorials that emerged after the exhumations of mass graves in Plan de Sánchez, Guatemala on local activism, this thesis finds that active memory during transition can lead to local actors taking charge of their transition. This occurred in Plan de Sánchez through taking legal issues that weren't being addressed on the national level to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, a court case that fuelled changes to both regional and international approaches to transitional justice.Show less
Transitional justice plays a central role in helping nations move forward in post-conflict periods in which nations have suffered from mass violence and other atrocities. Moreover, educating youth...Show moreTransitional justice plays a central role in helping nations move forward in post-conflict periods in which nations have suffered from mass violence and other atrocities. Moreover, educating youth on the past is necessary in order to work towards reconciliation and preventing the reoccurrence of atrocities. By presenting a comparative study of two countries that have gone through the same type of horrific violence, this thesis will examine the transitional justice approaches adopted in the field of education Cambodia and Rwanda, whereby it will conclude which one has promoted the most effective way of dealing with the past. According to International Centre for Transitional Justice (2018), the aims of transitional justice is ‘the recognition of the dignity of individuals, the redress and acknowledgment of violations and the aim to prevent them happening again.’ Thus, I argue that education plays a crucial role in transitional justice, and is not only important in teaching youth about a country’s history, but schools also help shape politics and create intergroup relations. The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the research on the relationship between transitional justice and education. By presenting two case studies, I will analyse which one of the two approaches in education has proven more successful as a mechanism of transitional justice. Lastly, I will conclude with a summary of the findings and give further recommendations.Show less
Spain’s democratic transition has served as a model of transition for many other countries of the third wave of democratization. However, despite the remarkable features of peacefulness and...Show moreSpain’s democratic transition has served as a model of transition for many other countries of the third wave of democratization. However, despite the remarkable features of peacefulness and rapidity of transforming from an authoritarian to a democratic state, the country abstained from a rupture with its old regime and from measures of transitional justice. In the center of Spain’s politics of continuity was the “Pact of Forgetting“ or pact of silence, an informal agreement amongst political parties in 1976 to silence the past of the Spanish Civil War and the dictatorship, in order to overcome historical cleavages and facilitate democratization. Nevertheless, since the 1990s, the pact of silence has been broken on several occasions by left political parties and increasingly come under pressure by civil society’s demands for justice. The 2000s were defined by two trends: an acceleration of left and societal demands for a recovery of historical memory and justice measures on the one hand, and conservative parties’ resistance in dealing with Spain’s past on the other hand. This thesis will examine the reasons for the disintegration of the pact of silence, with a particular focus on the “memory war” between left and right parties.Show less
This thesis examines the focal concepts and approaches in the field of transitional justice and argues for its positive contribution in the field of International Relations. It asks the question to...Show moreThis thesis examines the focal concepts and approaches in the field of transitional justice and argues for its positive contribution in the field of International Relations. It asks the question to what extent the method of truth-seeking is engaged in the implementation of measures of transitional justice and thereby fostering the reconciliation side of the spectrum or the opposite of dissension. The analysis suggests that reconciliation is part of the larger peace process and dissension is related to the process of othering. Reconciliation is further understood as being a reciprocal process with the creation of a shared historical narrative. In creating a truth-seeking framework and applying its indicators on the cases of South-Africa and Rwanda, an insight is created on the contribution of truth-seeking methods in transitional justices. Furthermore, this research argues that establishing a thick form of reconciliation is the aim of truth-seeking and the indicators of the created framework are designed to consider to what extent the disrupted narrative, which constitutes the underlying problem, is resolved through the means of dialogue and sympathising.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
The violent repression of non- violent protests is not an uncommon situation across the world. Current scholarship on this issue leads us to believe that countries with similar political history,...Show moreThe violent repression of non- violent protests is not an uncommon situation across the world. Current scholarship on this issue leads us to believe that countries with similar political history, structures and challenges would react in a similar way to non- violent protests. However that is not the case with Chile, Brazil and Uruguay. Why- despite of sharing many political, historical and social similarities- their experience with authoritarian rule in the past and democracy nowadays present different responses to non- violent social protests? Drawing on repression scales and data collections this thesis will answer this puzzle around the repression of non-violent social protests in South American Democracies by arguing that some past aspects of their history - such as their transition back to democracy- as well as some present variables – elites and military continuity and degree of threat play a role in that.Show less
