Transitional justice interventions in Sri Lanka

Why Do They Keep Failing

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5680909
AutoresRoshni Kapur (0009-0006-1249-2753, Ghent University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2024
Volumen24
Número3
Páginas251-275
Fecha de publicación2024-05-03
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaConflict Security and Development (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1467-8802 • E-ISSN: 1478-1174
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14678802.2024.2346086
OpenAlexW4399140754
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas14

How can a country meaningfully commit to transitional justice interventions when ethnocracy and majoritarianism remain deeply entrenched in its political, legal and constitutional structures? Despite the creation of several commissions of inquiry and other mechanisms over the years to deal with the past, including those set up during the civil war, transitional justice and reconciliation have not been an integral part of Sri Lanka’s nation-building campaign and socio-cultural consciousness. Sri Lanka’s transitional justice interventions have historically been top-down, state-driven and elitist that lacked wider consultations with various groups and take their interests and demands into account. The oscillation between different political parties and their domestic and foreign policy orientations have had little impact. This article argues that the top-down and ‘one-size-fits-all’ transitional justice model does not work in certain societies, including Sri Lanka, and a shift to a unique and contexualised approach is imperative not only for longer-term sustainability but also to allow voices from the ground to be heard and included. This paper critiques the dominant transitional justice process and examines the challenges of achieving transitional justice in deeply divided societies where majoritarianism strengthens after the end of a violent conflict. Nonetheless, it acknowledges the risks of over-eulogising the bottom-up and local approach

Criminology · Development economics · Economic Justice · Economics · Political science · Psychological intervention · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Sri lanka · Transitional justice · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Cambodian History and Society · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Peacebuilding and International Security · Psychology