Identities in Transition: Challenges for Transitional Justice in Divided Societies

In many societies, histories of exclusion, racism, and nationalist violence often create divisions so deep that finding a way to deal with the atrocities of the past seems nearly impossible. These societies face difficult practical questions about how to devise new state and civil society institutions that will respond to massive or systematic violations of human rights, recognize victims, and prevent the recurrence of abuse. Identities in Transition: Challenges for Transitional Justice in Divided Societies brings together a rich group of international researchers and practitioners who, for the first time, examine transitional justice through an “identity” lens. They tackle ways that transitional justice can act as a means of political learning across communities; foster citizenship, trust, and recognition; and break down harmful myths and stereotypes, as steps toward meeting the difficult challenges for transitional justice in divided societies.

Paige Arthur is Deputy Director of Institutional Learning at the International Center for Transitional Justice, where she leads ICTJ's initiatives in evaluating its impact, improving the effectiveness of its work, and knowledge management. Arthur was formerly ICTJ's Deputy Director of Research. Before coming to ICTJ, she was an editor of the journal Ethics and International Affairs. Arthur was also the Senior Program Officer for the Ethics in a Violent World initiative at the Carnegie Council. She is the author of Unfinished Projects: Decolonization and the Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre (2010).