Haunted by Three Spirits

Abstract

Abstract What ghosts haunt transitional justice? This chapter examines the complex relationship of transitional justice with time through its spectral apparitions, omissions, and undertones. For that purpose, it relies on the imagery and narrative structure of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to engage with the current discourse and practice of transitional justiceIn this manner, the ghost of the past reveals a transitional justice with a selective history where some episodes and practices are highlighted while others are occluded and glossed over. The ghost of the present shows how current transitional justice processes marginalize certain victims and neglect certain experiences of violence. The ghost of the future gestures towards self-reflective anxieties and disquiet about what lies ahead for the field of transitional justice that are at odds with the optimism of some transitional justice institutions. These afterlives of transitional justice showcase a discourse and practice inextricably linked with temporality and ghosts. The ghost of the present shows how official transitional justice processes marginalize certain victims, ignore experiences of violence and push civil society organizations to carry out practices invoking uncertain presences.