CFP: Panel ‘Transitional Justice Archives’, ECPR General Conference, Oslo (Deadline: February 10, 2017)

CFP: Panel ‘Transitional Justice Archives’, ECPR General Conference, Oslo
Deadline: February 10, 2017

Call for Papers

European Consortium for Political Research General Conference, Oslo, 6-9 September 2017

ECPR Panel Abstract: Transitional Justice Archives

After the global proliferation of numerous transitional justice mechanisms such as international criminal ad hoc tribunals and truth and reconciliation commissions, many are nearing, or have come to, their completion. What will remain are their archival records that document not only the heinous crimes committed in the countries concerned, but also how those transitional justice mechanisms operated. Often however, the contribution of archives to on-going transitional justice mechanisms is neglected and remains at best obscure.

In particular the panel welcomes papers exploring conceptual as well as empirical questions around archives. Therefore, this panel will bring together researchers and practitioners working on and in archives documenting gross human rights abuses. It will look into challenges of preserving and managing archives in volatile post-conflict contexts and discuss issues arising around access, location and ownership of archives and how such affect the impact of archives to transitional justice processes. These rather technical questions will be complimented by a discussion on what we can learn from archives about the transitional justice mechanisms themselves and particularly what narratives are represented in those archives; in short what ‘historical record’ is created, what is forgotten and what is remembered? The analysis of archival narratives can challenge presumptions about reconciliation, truth, healing and justice – notions that are believed to be the outcome of many transitional justice processes.

Please send a paper abstract (max 200 words), including a short bio and affiliation to Benjamin Thorne B.Thorne@sussex.ac.uk and Julia Viebach julia.viebach@crim.oc.ac.uk. Deadline is Friday 10 February.