Freedom in the grounding of transitional justice

Abstract

The South African truth and reconciliation commission ("TRC") during the post-apartheid era has made such commissions a staple of efforts to heal societies torn by conflict and internal strife. In this paper, I analyze the means by which TRCs help remedy such internal conflict. In particular, I focus on the tensions often noted between the role of TRCs as a means of creating population-level outcomes (such as a general reduction of conflict or violence) with the demands of justice for victims of past abuses for recompense or retribution. Such a tension is, I argue, a genuine one that cannot easily be resolved. This tension is analogous to a similar tension between what I refer to as "relational freedom" operating in many communalistic societies, and an alternative notion of freedom I refer to as "nyang." As I present these two conceptions of freedom, the former is characterized by the ability of individuals to develop connections and relationships with others in their community, and puts a premium on the forging of consensus and the avoidance of conflict. The latter is a more individualistic notion that, among other things, stresses the importance of accommodating conflict and constructing a modus Vivendi that allows individuals with conflicting beliefs and desires to live in peace without consensus.