The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: Legitimizing the Post-Apartheid State (Cambridge Studies in Law and Society)

$15.00 CAD

pp.271.paperback edition.”The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up to deal with the human rights violations of apartheid during the years 1960–1994. However, as Wilson shows, the TRC’s restorative justice approach to healing the nation did not always serve the needs of communities at a local level. Based on extended anthropological fieldwork, this book illustrates the impact of the TRC in urban African communities in Johannesburg. While a religious constituency largely embraced the commission’s religious-redemptive language of reconciliation, Wilson argues that the TRC had little effect on popular ideas of justice as retribution. This provocative study deepens our understanding of post-apartheid South Africa and the use of human rights discourse. It ends on a call for more cautious and realistic expectations about what human rights institutions can achieve in democratizing countries.”

In stock

SKU: 215151 Category:

Book Information

ISBN 1107010853
ISBN13 9780521001946
Number of pages 271
Original Title The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: Legitimizing the Post-Apartheid State (Cambridge Studies in Law and Society)
Published Date 2002
Book Condition Very good
Jacket Condition No Dustjacket
Binding Paperback
Size 8vo
Place of Publication Cambridge
Edition Reprint
Category:
Author:
Publisher:

Description

pp.271.paperback edition.”The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up to deal with the human rights violations of apartheid during the years 1960–1994. However, as Wilson shows, the TRC’s restorative justice approach to healing the nation did not always serve the needs of communities at a local level. Based on extended anthropological fieldwork, this book illustrates the impact of the TRC in urban African communities in Johannesburg. While a religious constituency largely embraced the commission’s religious-redemptive language of reconciliation, Wilson argues that the TRC had little effect on popular ideas of justice as retribution. This provocative study deepens our understanding of post-apartheid South Africa and the use of human rights discourse. It ends on a call for more cautious and realistic expectations about what human rights institutions can achieve in democratizing countries.”

Additional information

Weight 1 kg