Truth, justice, and reconciliation on the ground: normative divergence in the Western Balkans

Subotić, Jelena

doi:10.1057/jird.2015.13

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Truth-telling ▪ Mutually exclusive public 'truths' about the past is often considered to be a key hindrance to reconciliation Bešić & Džuverović, 2020;Subotic, 2015;Kurze & Vukusic, 2013).…”

Section: Impacts Of Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Mechanisms And Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitional Justice and Reconciliation in the Western Balkans: Approaches, Impacts and Challenges

Haider¹

2021

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Countries in the Western Balkans have engaged in various transitional justice and reconciliation initiatives to address the legacy of the wars of the 1990s and the deep political and societal divisions that persist. There is growing consensus among scholars and practitioners that in order to foster meaningful change, transitional justice must extend beyond trials (the dominant international mechanism in the region) and be more firmly anchored in affected communities with alternative sites, safe spaces, and modes of engagement. This rapid literature review presents a sample of initiatives, spanning a range of sectors and fields – truth-telling, art and culture, memorialisation, dialogue and education – that have achieved a level of success in contributing to processes of reconciliation, most frequently at the community level. It draws primarily from recent studies, published in the past five years. Much of the literature available centres on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), with some examples also drawn from Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia.

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Section: Impacts Of Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Mechanisms And Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitional Justice and Reconciliation in the Western Balkans: Approaches, Impacts and Challenges

Haider¹

2021

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“…However, it is a challenging task, especially when international bodies are involved. Subotić demonstrates how domestic understandings of international justice norms produce new meanings and practices [14]. She explores this matter in the context of Western Balkans where she argues that "the international norms of transitional justice and its constitutive elementspursuit of truth, justice, and reconciliation -have diverged deeply on the ground" in the Western Balkans over the past 20 years [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Subotić demonstrates how domestic understandings of international justice norms produce new meanings and practices [14]. She explores this matter in the context of Western Balkans where she argues that "the international norms of transitional justice and its constitutive elementspursuit of truth, justice, and reconciliation -have diverged deeply on the ground" in the Western Balkans over the past 20 years [14]. She shows how truth, justice, and reconciliation mean very different things to "victims", "perpetrators", "states", not only in the Western Balkans but also in Kenya, Cambodia, Colombia, among other countries (ibid).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…She shows how truth, justice, and reconciliation mean very different things to "victims", "perpetrators", "states", not only in the Western Balkans but also in Kenya, Cambodia, Colombia, among other countries (ibid). Subotić thus, calls for a deep normative transformation that will allow building the "rule of law and democratic institutions that could serve as bulwarks against repetition of violent crimes" [14]. Similarly, Loizides et al argue that addressing issues of justice and reconciliation in the aftermath of conflict is pivotal to the establishment of successful institutional mechanisms [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Post-War Cultural Heritage Preservation in Kosovo: Rethinking the Implementation of Ahtisaari Plan Annex V

Hisari

Fouseki²

2020

Heritage

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Current works have focused on the role of urban heritage to sustainable development in postwar cities and have highlighted the significance of participatory and inclusive approaches that involve citizens and key stakeholders in the conservation and regeneration of heritage areas. However, this task is rather complex and challenging, especially in areas inhabited by multiple ethnic groups. Skills in negotiation and building trust are as important as skills in restoration and conservation of the physical fabric. However, the current literature lacks in-depth understandings of how negotiations in these contexts work and what we can learn from the past. The aim of this paper is to explore this issue by using a case study analysis, in particular, that of Kosovo. This paper looks at how the process developed during the implementation period of Annex V of the Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement (CSP) related to cultural heritage preservation. We analyze the sociocultural and political dynamics on the ground by focusing on Article 4 that deals with protective zones. With a critical examination of the approaches taken by stakeholders, including the public discourse and the example of the historic centre of Prizren, we suggest rethinking the implementation of Annex V as a sustainable option, rather than looking at other (beyond Annex V) alternatives that could potentially undermine the inter-community rebuilding efforts, and instead of creating the basis for sustainable cultural heritage preservation and reconciliation would eventually contribute to escalation and deepening of the conflict.

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“…Subotić’s theoretical framework suggests that “divergent meaning” (2015, 375) of justice norms, factual truth establishment, and the pursuit of reconciliation explains why “in post-conflict states transitional justice processes on the grounds produce outcomes so different substantially from international expectations” (2015, 362). We thus expand her concept by asking, how can we better understand apparently incompatible systems of meaning; are these really incompatible, or what is it that makes them incompatible; and under what circumstances can they converge?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longing for Lost Normalcy: Social Memory, Transitional Justice, and the ‘House Museum’ to Missing Persons in Kosovo

Schwandner‐Sievers

Klinkner

2019

Nationalities Papers

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In spring 1999, amidst a wider ethnic cleansing campaign, Serb police forces abducted Ferdonije Qerkezi’s husband and four sons, who were never to be seen alive again. She subsequently transformed her private house into a memorial to the lost normalcy of her entire social world. We trace this memorialization process; her struggle for recognition; her transformation into an iconic mother of the nation and her activism, both for missing persons and against the internationally-driven Serb-Albanian normalization process in Kosovo. From a multi-disciplinary perspective, we critically reflect on the theoretical concept of “normative divergence” in intervention studies. We are guided by social anthropological (including immersive, historical-ethnographic, and semantic) analysis of the core tropes of social memory as both narratively and materially embodied by the House Museum. In systematically juxtaposing these to the normative transitional justice principles of truth, justice, non-recurrence, and reparations, and the overarching international intervention goal of reconciliation, we critically interrogate normative divergence per se. The ethnographic “thick description” of this case study—cognizant of context contingency, victims’ agency and experience, cultural change, and social transformation—points to divergent meanings of these principles as resulting directly from the political and institutional failure to provide key transitional justice goals.

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Truth, justice, and reconciliation on the ground: normative divergence in the Western Balkans

Cited by 10 publications

References 64 publications

Transitional Justice and Reconciliation in the Western Balkans: Approaches, Impacts and Challenges

Transitional Justice and Reconciliation in the Western Balkans: Approaches, Impacts and Challenges

Post-War Cultural Heritage Preservation in Kosovo: Rethinking the Implementation of Ahtisaari Plan Annex V

Longing for Lost Normalcy: Social Memory, Transitional Justice, and the ‘House Museum’ to Missing Persons in Kosovo

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