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Angela D. Nichols - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Truth Commission Legitimacy and Violence in Africa
Impact Legitimacy and Limitations of Truth Commissions, 2019Co-Authors: Angela D. NicholsAbstract:In an attempt to gain a more nuanced understanding of Truth Commission impact on violence within a society, I devote Chap. 5 to testing the argued relationships using the SCAD—information on protests, riots, strikes, and other similar social disturbances in Africa between 1990 and 2011. I find that the authority awarded to a Truth Commission by its mandate decreases the total number of SCAD events that occur in a particular country by about 11%. Additionally, public hearings perform counter to my expectations. Based on my statistical analysis, public hearings (transparency) increase violence by a little less than 6% compared to Truth Commission countries that do not hold public hearings. This chapter further discusses these and other results in greater depth.
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Measuring Truth Commission Characteristics
Impact Legitimacy and Limitations of Truth Commissions, 2019Co-Authors: Angela D. NicholsAbstract:This chapter describes the Truth Commission characteristics dataset collected for this project. The data collected are a series of variables used to distinguish Truth Commissions from one another. The data are created using the United States Institute of Peace’s Digital Library to access primary and secondary source documents related to 45 Truth Commissions and inquiries of Truth. Key variables as well as a handful of other interesting descriptive statistics are discussed.
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Truth Commission Legitimacy
Impact Legitimacy and Limitations of Truth Commissions, 2019Co-Authors: Angela D. NicholsAbstract:This chapter lays out the theoretical framework of the project. Truth Commissions are examined to identify key characteristics that foster legitimacy and increase the likelihood that Truth Commissions improve the societies in which they exist. I argue that authority demonstrated by a strong mandate, a break with the past signaled by a new regime, and transparency via public hearings and published reports are the key characteristics associated with improvements in respect for human rights and decreases in violence.
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Truth Commission Legitimacy and Human Rights
Impact Legitimacy and Limitations of Truth Commissions, 2019Co-Authors: Angela D. NicholsAbstract:This chapter is the first empirical chapter and a global test of my theory. I examine theoretically and statistically the impact that Truth Commissions with legitimacy characteristics have on respect for human rights. I find that Truth Commissions mandated to investigate broad human rights abuses respect human rights at a rate about 30% higher than countries with Truth Commissions designated to investigate specific abuses only. Additionally, Truth Commissions created by a new regime, which I argue are seen as more fair following conflict and/or repression by signaling a shift from the past, are associated with a greater respect for human rights compared to Truth Commissions created by the same regime that ruled during the trauma/conflict or those created by institutions outside the state apparatus. These and other findings are discussed in this chapter.
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Not all Truth Commissions are alike: Understanding their limitations and impact
2014Co-Authors: Angela D. NicholsAbstract:This dissertation project develops a theoretical understanding of how Truth Commissions achieve legitimacy and thus contribute to peace and stability in the aftermath of major traumatic events (e.g. civil war, mass killings, regime changes). I identify three components of Truth Commission legitimacy---authority, fairness, and transparency---that facilitate beneficial outcomes for societies emerging from a period of severe human rights repression or civil war. I theorize and test how institutions with these legitimacy characteristics contribute to an increase in respect for human rights and decrease political violence in transitioning societies, thus contributing to peace and stability. In order to test the hypothesized relationships, I create a Truth Commission characteristic dataset that provides greater detail than existing datasets. This project is a contribution to our understanding of the relationships between human rights, institutions, conflict, and international law. It provides one explanation for the inconsistent findings of extant work concerning the impact of transitional justice, generally and Truth Commissions, specifically. I provide evidence that there are identifiable "best practices" that Truth Commissions should consider adopting. This information can assist states, intergovernmental organizations, and nongovernmental organizations alike in making difficult decisions regarding the transitional justice process, which is expensive and time consuming further necessitating an understanding of what practices are most crucial for achieving peace and stability.
Eric Wiebelhaus-brahm - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Truth Commissions and the Construction of History
The Palgrave Handbook of State-Sponsored History After 1945, 2018Co-Authors: Eric Wiebelhaus-brahmAbstract:Since the 1980s, Truth Commissions have proliferated. Advocates argue they produce a common history of violence and repression that may promote such things as human rights and reconciliation. Nonetheless, the theoretical and empirical bases for these claims are controversial. This chapter provides an overview of the Truth Commission as a tool for state construction of history. After defining Truth Commissions, the principled and practical reasons why they are created are outlined. Then, I discuss how design and operational decisions shape the history that is produced, highlighting the strategic behavior of governments, victims, activists, and external interests as they advocate for or attempt to obstruct Truth Commission processes. I conclude by reflecting upon the lasting impact of Truth Commission processes.
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When Truth Commissions Improve Human Rights
International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2010Co-Authors: Tricia D. Olsen, Leigh A. Payne, Andrew G. Reiter, Eric Wiebelhaus-brahmAbstract:Most studies of Truth Commissions assert their positive role in improving human rights. A first wave of research made these claims based on qualitative analysis of a single Truth Commission or a small number of cases. Thirty years of experience with Truth Commissions and dozens of examples allow cross-national statistical studies to assess these findings. Two recent studies undertake that project. Their findings, which are summarized in this article, challenge the prevailing view that Truth Commissions foster human rights, showing instead that Commissions, when used alone, tend to have a negative impact on human rights. Truth Commissions have a positive impact, however, when used in combination with trials and amnesties. This article extends the question of whether Truth Commissions improve human rights to how, when and why they succeed or fail in doing so. It presents a ‘justice balance’ explanation, whereby Commissions, incapable of promoting stability and accountability on their own, contribute to human rights improvements when they complement and enhance amnesties and prosecutions. The article draws on experiences in Brazil, Chile, Nepal, South Korea and South Africa to illustrate the central argument.
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Truth Commissions and Transitional Societies: The Impact on Human Rights and Democracy
2010Co-Authors: Eric Wiebelhaus-brahmAbstract:Part 1: Truth-Seeking as an Article of Faith 1. An Inconvenient Truth 2. Theorizing Truth Commission Expectations Part 2: Experiments in Truth 3. South Africa's Paradigmatic Truth and Reconciliation Commission 4. Chile's Persistent Past 5. Truth and Peacebuilding in El Salvador 6. Historical Oblivion in Uganda Part 3: Truth Commissions in Cross-National Context 7. Truth Commissions, Human Rights, and Democracy Around the World Part 4: The Promise and Pitfalls of Truth Commissions 8. The Consequences of Truth
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The Turn to Truth: Trends in Truth Commission Experimentation
Journal of Human Rights, 2010Co-Authors: Geoff Dancy, Hun Joon Kim, Eric Wiebelhaus-brahmAbstract:Interest in cross-national comparison of transitional justice mechanisms has grown recently, as has the study of Truth Commissions in particular. However, as is true of many emerging areas of research, progress has been hampered by significant gaps in data and by a lack of consensus as to what constitutes the universe of cases. To address this problem, this article introduces the most comprehensive Truth Commission database we know to be in existence. First, we describe the process of collecting information on Truth Commission cases and outline our logic in determining what cases to include in the database. Then, we briefly discuss the attributes of Truth Commission cases included in the database and explain our reasoning regarding their inclusion. Finally, we use the data to provide an overview of patterns and trends in the use of Truth Commissions.
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What Does Brazil Have to Gain from a Truth Commission after Two Decades of Democracy
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2009Co-Authors: Eric Wiebelhaus-brahmAbstract:This chapter considers what Brazil might gain from creating a Truth Commission to examine human rights abuses that occurred more than twenty years ago. Considering the myriad goals attributed to Truth Commissions, the 2004 UN report suggests that they have the potential to uncover information, promote human rights, strengthen democracy, encourage victim healing, and promote reconciliation. Below, I consider the prognosis for a Truth Commission contributing to each of these ends in Brazil and the policy choices that may be necessary in order to achieve these ends. Brazilians should not expect too much from a Truth Commission and there may be unpleasant compromises necessary to achieve some of these goals. Nonetheless, on balance, a Truth Commission would be a positive step.
Brigittine M. French - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Technologies of Telling: Discourse, Transparency, and Erasure in Guatemalan Truth Commission Testimony
Journal of Human Rights, 2009Co-Authors: Brigittine M. FrenchAbstract:This paper offers a “critical epistemological reflection” on representations of survivor testimony in the Guatemalan Truth Commissions. As is commonly the case with TRC work, a good deal of effort was dedicated to the recuperation of victims' voices whose experiences of violence and suffering were brutally silenced in official Guatemalan state and public discourse. In this kind of “postconflict” context, the collection of survivor testimony is presumed to give new power to the victims and to create conditions for progressive social change in the aftermath of state-sponsored violence. However, my analysis problematizes these assumptions by elucidating multiple discursive forms, functions, and transformations in survivor testimony that are unrecognized in most Truth Commission reports. Examining these erasures in the representation of survivor testimony enables me to argue that the Truth-telling process and analyses in Truth Commission efforts may well replicate dominant power relations that continue to tac...
James L. Gibson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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On Legitimacy Theory and the Effectiveness of Truth Commissions
Law and contemporary problems, 2009Co-Authors: James L. GibsonAbstract:I INTRODUCTION The world has clearly registered its opinion about the desirability and effectiveness of Truth Commissions. From South Korea to Peru, Truth Commissions (and functionally equivalent institutions) have been established as a means of addressing historical injustices. (1) Indeed, out of the limited list of mechanisms for dealing with historical injustices and preparing a pathway toward a more secure and democratic future, Truth Commissions stand out as a very common choice of states haunted by their own histories. (2) But are Truth Commissions effective? Of course, the first part of the answer to this question requires an answer to an earlier query: Effective at what? Can a Truth Commission create a democratic political system? Probably not. Can it erase a history of intense political conflict, bringing all sides together in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation? Surely not. But, to lower our expectations, can a Truth Commission contribute to a collective memory for a society, providing at least some common understanding of a country's conflictual past, including some appreciation of the motives of "the enemy"? Can a Truth Commission contribute to the development of a rule-of-law culture that respects human rights and thereby raises the costs of future efforts to violate the human rights of the citizenry? Can a Truth Commission advance political tolerance, a central component of a democratic political culture and a necessary ingredient for coexistence? The answers to these questions, while still subject to considerable disagreement and debate, are most likely that, under at least some conditions and to at least a limited degree, Truth Commissions can indeed contribute to societal transformation. Indeed, rigorous empirical evidence on the effectiveness of the South African Truth and reconciliation process supports this conclusion. (3) It appears that the South African process generated a Truth about the past that is fairly widely accepted. It appears as well that those who buy into that Truth tend to be more reconciled with the country's past, their fellow South Africans, and the political institutions of the country's new dispensation. And it seems that this reconciliation has been crucial in buying the South African transition some breathing space during which nascent democratic institutions and processes have been established and nurtured. The Truth and reconciliation process in South Africa did not produce a secure, consolidated, democratic political system (in terms of either culture or institutions). But available evidence suggests that some portion of the South African "miracle" can reasonably be attributed to the success of the Commission's efforts to find Truth and create reconciliation. (4) At the same time, however, Truth Commissions often fail, even when expectations are minimal. Many Commissions appear to have had little, if any, impact on societal transformations. Indeed, some view Commissions as the product of social change rather than the cause of it. (5) Although it is certainly too soon to assess many of the ongoing efforts at Truth and reconciliation throughout the world today, it would not be terribly surprising to find that Truth Commissions more often fail than succeed. What, then, contributes to success at creating Truth and stimulating reconciliation? Few would argue with the assertion that the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is among the most successful in the world; indeed, the TRC is widely emulated by societies seeking some sort of transition from atrocities in the past to more-peaceful and democratic politics in the future. (6) But what key elements of the South African process contributed to its success? Are these factors generalizable to other polities, cultures, and circumstances? It is important to determine what lessons can be learned from the South African experience, and to provide some desiderata for those who would use Truth as a mean of enhancing reconciliation and democratic change. …
Eric Brahm - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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What is a Truth Commission and Why Does it Matter
2009Co-Authors: Eric BrahmAbstract:There is a growing body of comparative research that seeks to produce empirical evidence and, thereby, contribute to policy debates on the relative merits of Truth Commissions. However, these efforts have been plagued by a lack of attention to case selection. The lack of consensus on what constitutes the universe of Truth Commission cases has contributed to a pattern of inconclusive, inconsistent findings. This article reviews the empirical literature and finds over 70 potential Truth Commission cases. After examining some of the reasons behind such disagreement, I offer Freeman’s (2006) typology of investigative Commissions as the best suited to advance research in the field.
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Uncovering the Truth: Examining Truth Commission Success and Impact
International Studies Perspectives, 2007Co-Authors: Eric BrahmAbstract:While there is growing interest in examining what long-term impact Truth Commissions have on society, our understanding has been hampered by a number of empirical problems. Specifically, most studies focus on a small biased subsample of cases, rely on anecdotal evidence and normative conviction, and fail to follow the Truth Commission's legacy beyond its immediate reception. What is more, although a range of purposes have been put forward for Truth Commissions, there is little consensus on what criteria might be used to assess them. These issues are further compounded by a growing chorus of critics who see Truth Commissions as either ineffectual or dangerous. This article fleshes out the nature of these problems and outlines how a multimethod strategy might be effective in addressing them. Furthermore, it suggests two potential means of assessing the impact of Truth Commissions, specifically their effect on subsequent human rights practices and democratic development. The article concludes by suggesting how some problems with this strategy can be overcome by further iterations of a multimethod approach.
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Getting to the Bottom of Truth: Examining Truth Commission Success and Impact
2005Co-Authors: Eric BrahmAbstract:In light of their growing popularity, Truth Commissions are overdue for evaluation. More than simply judging them based on whether they complete their work, what is ultimately of interest is their broader social effects. A whole range of uses have been put forward for Truth Commissions, but there is little consensus on what criteria might be used to assess them. Yet, despite these wide-ranging claims, the evidence for them is often spotty. The issue is compounded by a growing chorus of critics that see Truth Commissions as ineffectual or even dangerous. This paper isolates a few such purposes often articulated by supporters: first examining the implementation record and then the consequences for democratization, human rights, and trust: and suggests how existing data might help us begin to answer this question without having to wait for better data collection in future cases. In addition, I address the problem of distinguishing Truth Commission impact from other factors given the fact that they are relatively limited institutions. From there, I suggest some important sources of Truth Commission variation that are likely significant in shaping outcomes.
