Transitional Justice, Culture, and Society: Beyond Outreach

Transitional justice processes have a fundamental public dimension. Their impact depends in part on the social support they receive. For this reason, transitional justice bodies have increasingly implemented outreach programs.

Beyond the role of outreach, however, other initiatives—such as media and cultural interventions—can strengthen, but also in some cases undermine, the public resonance of transitional justice. How can media and art be used to engage society in discussions about accountability and redress? How do media influence social perceptions and attitudes toward the legacy of the past? To what extent is social engagement in the public sphere necessary to advance the political transformation that transitional justice measures try to promote? Examining the roles that society and culture play in transitional justice contexts, the essays in this volume focus on the ways in which communicative practices can raise public awareness of and reflection on the legacies of mass abuse.