Resistance and Transitional Justice

Abstract

Abstract Transitional justice is never a neutral or simply technical process. It is political and based on a series of choices and compromises which prioritize certain practices, discourses, and actors over others. Taking this as a starting point, this chapter explores resistance as an inherent part of the empirical unfolding of transitional justice. This is an underexplored yet rich area, which places an emphasis on the contexts in which transitional justice processes are implemented, and the agency of those living in transitional societies. Drawing on the cases of Burundi, Cambodia, and Côte d’Ivoire the chapter demonstrates that resistance to transitional justice must be seen in the context of longer-term struggle and the working out of a contested politics, rather than as a simple act of deviancy or spoilerism.