Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding on the Ground: Victims and Ex-Combatants (Law, Conflict and International Relations) - Hardcover

"Is the pursuit of justice a necessary route to lasting peace in post-conflict settings? Do peace-building efforts routinely undermine durable justice? The authors explode this false dichotomy in their exciting new volume. Drawing on recent experiences from Colombia and Sierra Leone to Lebanon and Uganda they consider the trade-offs routinely confronted by traumatised societies at war's end. They show how activities often cast as oppositional, in particular restorative justice versus disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, are more closely aligned than assumed." - Dr. Robert Muggah, Small Arms Survey, Geneva, Switzerland

"Through nuanced case studies guided by a fresh analytical framework, the book manages to convey both the local complexity faced by countries undergoing transition, as well as the common challenges and opportunities. It asks practical questions and provides much food for reflection for both academics and practitioners." -- Hugo van der Merwe, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), Johannesburg, South Africa

This book seeks to refine our understanding of transitional justice and peacebuilding, and long-term security and reintegration challenges after violent conflicts.

As recent events following political change during the so-called 'Arab Spring' demonstrate, demands for accountability often follow or attend conflict and political transition. While traditionally much literature and many practitioners highlighted tensions between peacebuilding and justice, recent research and practice demonstrates a turn away from the supposed 'peace vs justice' dilemma.

This volume examines the complex relationship between peacebuilding and transitional justice through the lenses of the increased emphasis on victim-centred approaches to justice and the widespread practices of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of excombatants. While recent volumes have sought to address either DDR or victim-centred approaches to justice, none has sought to make connections between the two, much less to place them in the larger context of the increasing linkages between transitional justice and peacebuilding.

This book will be of great interest to students of transitional justice, peacebuilding, human rights, war and conflict studies, security studies and IR.