Righting Victim Participation in Transitional Justice

Informations projet

VictPart

N° de convention de subvention: 804154

DOI

10.3030/804154

Projet clôturé

Date de signature de la CE 26 Mars 2019

Date de début 1 Juillet 2019

Date de fin 31 Decembre 2024

Financé au titre de

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Coût total

€ 1 497 407,00

Contribution de l’UE

€ 1 497 407,00

Coordonné par

UNIVERSITEIT GENT
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - VictPart (Righting Victim Participation in Transitional Justice)

Période du rapport: 2024-01-01 au 2024-12-31

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

The project fundamentally shifts the understanding of victim participation in transitional justice (TJ) by broadening the scope to victim engagement. Traditionally, TJ scholarship has relied on institutional perspectives that categorize participation into predefined mechanisms. This project introduced an ecosystemic approach, highlighting the diverse and fluid ways in which victim-survivors seek justice beyond institutional boundaries. The research reconceptualized victim trajectories, moving from hierarchical models to a dynamic, process-oriented framework that acknowledges intersecting justice struggles over time.

This shift is significant for society because it enhances the agency of victim-survivors and recognizes their evolving role in justice-seeking. The project underscores the need for historical and comparative insights into how victim engagement has changed across different TJ contexts. Its outcomes contribute to redefining transitional justice frameworks, enabling practitioners and policymakers to better support justice-seeking communities in post-conflict societies and beyond.

The key objectives which the project has contributed to have been:

Developing a broader conceptual framework for understanding victim engagement in TJ beyond institutional participation.
Shifting from an institutional to an actor-oriented perspective, recognizing the agency of victims in shaping justice processes.
Moving from an outcome-driven to a process-focused approach, acknowledging the iterative and long-term nature of justice struggles.
Exploring the expansion of TJ into aparadigmatic contexts, such as ongoing conflicts and consolidated democracies.
Highlighting the role of documentation as a foundational, yet overlooked, component of TJ, including its potential for truth-seeking and memorialization.
Employing novel interdisciplinary methodologies to analyze victim engagement, such as text mining, experimental designs, and participatory research approaches.

These insights have been synthesized into key publications, including the Cambridge Handbook on Victim Engagement in TJ, which provides a comparative and future-oriented framework for rethinking victim protagonism in justice processes.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

From the beginning of the project, extensive research has been conducted to analyze victim engagement trajectories, justice mechanisms, and transitional justice innovations. Key accomplishments include:

Empirical and theoretical advancements in victim engagement: Through comparative case studies, the research team has mapped the diverse ways victims engage with justice, from institutional advocacy to grassroots activism.
Publication of high-impact research outputs:
The volume on "Transitional Justice in Aparadigmatic Contexts", which critically examines TJ’s geographical and contextual expansion.
The "Afterlives of TJ" article, which explores how justice tools and narratives are reinterpreted over time by victim-survivors.
The forthcoming "Victim Engagement in TJ" book with CUP, which provides a systematic historical and theoretical analysis of victims’ roles.
Development of new interdisciplinary research methods:
Text mining and sentiment analysis of TJ archives.
Survey experiments on the impact of memory narratives.
Participatory methodologies, such as reading groups, learning circles, and community-driven memory documentation.
Practical contributions to policy and advocacy:
Research findings were disseminated through roundtable discussions in seven countries, engaging policymakers and TJ practitioners.
The closing conference in Ghent (March 2024) attracted over 250 participants, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue on justice trajectories.
The project’s ethical framework evolved to integrate adaptive and survivor-centered methodologies.
Proof of Concept Grant – RedressHub: The project led to the successful funding of RedressHub, an innovative online platform that maps and connects redress initiatives for colonial harms in Europe.
Knowledge sharing and collaboration:
The research team actively contributed to the Human Rights Research Network (HRRN), facilitating interdisciplinary knowledge exchange.
Collaborative engagements with justice-seeking communities, such as memory walks in Guatemala, artistic documentation by Syrian women refugees, and youth-led survivor storytelling in Cambodia.

These results have positioned the project as a leading research initiative in transitional justice, providing valuable insights for both academia and policy practice.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

The project has significantly advanced transitional justice research by:

Reconceptualizing victim engagement: It challenges the traditional institutional view of victim participation and proposes an ecosystemic, actor-oriented framework that better reflects the fluid and evolving nature of justice struggles.
Expanding the scope of transitional justice: It introduces the concept of TJ in aparadigmatic contexts, recognizing that justice struggles extend beyond post-conflict or post-authoritarian transitions.
Bringing documentation to the forefront: The project identifies documentation as a blind spot in TJ, advocating for its integration into justice strategies beyond legal accountability.
Introducing interdisciplinary and participatory methodologies:
Text mining techniques offer new insights from historical TJ records.
Experimental approaches examine public perceptions of memory and justice.
Grassroots engagement methods empower survivor communities in shaping research outcomes.
Bridging research and practice:
RedressHub is a direct application of research insights, facilitating real-world impact.
Ethics and engagement strategies influence best practices for victim-centered research.

Expected Results beyond the timeline of the project

Finalization and dissemination of key publications, including the Cambridge Handbook on Victim Engagement in TJ.
Further theorization of TJ’s adaptability across different socio-political contexts.
Implementation of RedressHub, providing an interactive resource for practitioners and victims.
Synthesis of empirical findings into a policy-oriented framework for victim engagement in TJ.
Engagement with policymakers, academics, and civil society actors to translate research insights into actionable recommendations.

Overall, the project redefines how transitional justice is studied, practiced, and conceptualized, ensuring that victim-survivors' agency is central to justice processes in both transitional and non-transitional settings.

Researchers Group