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Righting Victim Participation in Transitional Justice

Project description

New understanding of transitional justice

Mass atrocities and systematic abuse devastate societies and test judiciary systems. Transitional Justice (TJ) refers to how governments and other actors seek accountability for past wrongdoings and try to ensure justice. Victim participation is increasingly considered a crucial element of these processes. However, TJ processes face practical, financial and political constraints, both in and of themselves, and when it comes to victim participation. The EU-funded VictPart project will conduct systematic analyses, empirical and comparative studies to establish an academic framework on the subject of victim participation in transitional justice. It will provide new insight into victim experience, and help organise victim participation processes in efficient ways to improve legal stability and safety in societies that are transitioning towards democracy.

Objective

The question of how to serve justice, facilitate peaceful transitions and empower victims of past large-scale abuses is about as old as the field of transitional justice (TJ) itself. Increasingly, academics and practitioners are turning to participatory approaches as a promising way to make advances regarding these issues. An oft-cited benefit of victim participation in TJ processes is that it allegedly increases the legitimacy of these processes by rendering them more locally relevant, and that it empowers participants.

However, little is known about how to organize this participation in practice or under which conditions alleged benefits (for individual victims-participants or for society at large) are likely to materialize. As a result, participation is often organized in an 'add-victims-and-stir' way, with little critical reflection about potential unforeseen or long-term effects.

Because TJ processes often face significant practical, financial and political constraints, it is crucial to better understand how participatory approaches can be developed in ways that contribute to a positive and lasting legacy.

The main objective of this project is therefore threefold, (1) to conduct a systematic analysis of the scope, nature, modalities and role of victim participation in transitional justice processes, (2) to study empirically and comparatively how participation shapes victims' experience and understandings of justice and their rights, and (3) to develop a critical victimology framework and establish how this framework can be used to conceptualize victim participation in ways that contribute to TJ's goal of engendering just, stable and secure societies.

A multi-disciplinary approach, rooted in legal studies, social psychology, political science, public administration and anthropology is proposed, which allows for a multi-dimensional understanding of these issues, both in academic and in practical terms.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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ERC-STG - Starting Grant

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2018-STG

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Host institution

UNIVERSITEIT GENT
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 497 407,00
Address
SINT PIETERSNIEUWSTRAAT 25
9000 Gent
Belgium

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Region
Vlaams Gewest Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen Arr. Gent
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 497 407,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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