Transitional Justice: The Issue that Won't Go Away

The author asks whether there is anything we can do to lessen the disappointments and frustrations that often result from our attempts to pursue transitional justice. He argues that the best way to respond to this challenge is to accept the existence of three factors that arise in every attempt to come to terms with past wrongs: the power of precedent; the illusion of resolution; and the possibility of a continuous return. Examining a well-known example of transitional justice - the use of East German secret police files to review the qualifications of public officials for employment in unified Germany - the author confirms that our search for justice is likely to be far less satisfying than we hope it to be. He also lays the foundation for a more upbeat perspective, however, by arguing that our disappointment lies in our approach to the topic. While most scholars treat transitional justice as a 'goal,' they may be better advised to conceptualize it as a 'process.'