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1. Question 1 ENG: Reconciliation between large groups or between nations

a. Discuss the concept of reconciliation as discussed in Ramsbotham, Miall &

Woodhouse (chapter 10).

b. Explain the following activities towards reconciliation [based on readings and class
lecture/discussion]:

a. Official acknowledgment of past wrong doing

b. Political apologies
c. Reparations
d. Truth commissions
e. Trials (ICTY / ICTR)
21/25
Definition of reconciliation stands for restoring broken relationships and learning to live
nonviolently with radical differences.
There is four dimensions in which we can explain how reconciliation work and they are: accepting
status quo, correlating accounts, bridging opposites and reconstituting relations.
Justice represents dealing with past publicly and collectively and it stands between vengeance
that call for individual action (I will repay) and shared collective state of amnesia (Forgive and
forget)
Official acknowledgment of past wrong doing represent a process of mutual accommodation
comprised of acknowledgement of past wrongdoing and contrition from perpetrators in
exchange for forgiveness offered by the victims and it is used after political settlement has been
reached while political apologies insist on improving formal conditions between states and it is
commonly referred to conditionality in terms of wider diplomacy process and represent symbolic
gesture driven to establish process as preconditions to other process like example of EU
conditionality through cooperation between ICTY and Serbia.
In order to review range of social experiments in text was presented examples of amnesia, three
approaches regarding justice (truth commissions, trials and compensations) and retaliation. In
the section about Official amnesia it was compared Cambodia and Spain mentioning elite
leadership where in the case of Spain was fearing of counter-coup and for Cambodia it was
surviving Khmer Rouge leadership. It is needed more information and remembering of victims in
other to ensure that there can’t be repetition. Presenting as third way between Nurnberg trial
and national amnesia – truth commissions. The Main aim is to establish truth through individual
testimonials what Graybill calls “a single universe of comprehensibility” which outcome can be
expression of regret, measurement of reparation and opening emotional space.
Considering trials , main point is that peace and justice is not usually corelated and they can be
perceived only as complementary in regards to truth commissions since without cessation of
violence it is less possible to bring perpetrators of atrocities to justice and sometimes tribunals
can be perceived as political tool of their enemies. Main aspect is within establishing guilt or
innocence ,purging threating leaders, deterring war criminals and establishing truth, most
important one that will be further elaborated in Dragovic Soso text .

For reparation and compensation, it is important to be mentioned as important part of great

scope of reconciliation enabled by wider perspective of justice which could not only be seen as
money reparation but also building memorials,monuments,parks and renaming buildings and
bridge it with long term reconciliation vision.

2. Question 2 ENG: Transitional Justice 19/25

1. What is transitional justice?

[base your reply on Bickford or Freeman text].
2. What is the main aim of transitional justice processes?
3. Discuss the difference and similarities between transitional justice and peacebuilding
[based on Lederach and Mac Ginty texts]

The concept of transitional justice is commonly referred to as a framework for confronting past
human rights abuses, mass atrocity and other forms of social trauma. In order to make normative
argument for confronting past it was influenced on human rights movement and international
human right law.
Bickford discusses transitional justice as framework for confronting past abuse combining
complementary non-judicial and judicial strategies forming argument that follow two principles
: making it victim centric and relying on international human right law. In continuation in
explaining the term Bickford mentions it’s misleading direction to “justice during transition” than
to any other form of modified justice . However, defining characteristics includes concept of
justice as broader form of justice like reparation and forming truth commission. and transitional
of regimes as second concept, for example from authoritarian to democratic one.
Transitional justice framework recognizes transitions as complex with understanding limits of
justice as it could be for example be negotiated settlement resulting tenuous peace or fragile
democracy. Judicial system that is weak, ineffective, corrupt or limited by barriers such as a
amnesties of perpetrators associated with former regimes may result from negotiations and limit
prosecution capabilities.
Main aim of Transitional Justice? Question #2?
Regarding difference and similarities between transitional justice and peacebuilding in texts of
Mac Ginty, Lederach and Bickford we should notice that in Mac Ginty elaborates the idea about
everyday peace (norms and practice that divided societies use to avoid and minimize conflict)
while Lederach insists on conflict transformation through linked to respond on specific type of
relation and therefore match with specific type of response perceiving time dimension and
personal,relational,structural,cultural dimensions. Lederach model has been usually used by
bottom up initiatives in peacebuilding process and for Mac Ginty’s approach we can perceive also
as constructive ambiguity in phenomena of determinative narrative of fixities of boundaries and
identities while main characteristic of Lederach model is that it follows structural and procedural
component which could bring it closely to Bickford . Commented [OF1]: Could more be said about
Peacebuilding
Everyday Peace
And Transitional Justice
Similarities & differences in aims and features… what you
offer here as your analysis is very narrow/basic. Based on
the text I suppose more can be discussed/analyzed.

3. Question 3 ENG: Dealing with the Past 21/25

1. Discuss the notion and actions of dealing with the past [based on Dragovic-
Soso or Delaye texts].

Based on Delaye [and Dragovic-Soso]: compare the model of dealing with the past in
Germany, Spain and Balkans [after the wars of the 1990s]

Dealing with past emerges from conviction of most scholars that peace or justice should be
possible if past is “worked through” since it has been connected with construction of collective
memory. Confronting with past is considered as process of “working/dealing” with violent past
and atrocities made in past.
Following Maurice Halbwachs, who coined term “collective memory”, past has been formed
through perception of current problems so to say the past is always constructed to the needs of
present. Benedict Anderson argue that community were not primordial entities but imagined
communities while Hobsbawm and Ranger elaborate on how national “traditions” are taken for
granted as being linked with past are sometimes invented focusing on elites as creators of new
collective memory where present shapes memories of past legitimizing its power and achieving
social cohesion. Constructivist model provides us perspective with which we can perceive
memory as coopted, modelled and reshaped by the state and elites. Our visions of past create
symbol structure and narrative framework that helps us to understand present as per words of
Paul Connerton. Memory therefore acts in both directions, as mediator between visions and
those of the past. While elites shapes discourses using their power,they need to draw on
attention on existing repository of symbols,myths and understanding history that have been built
over time where focus on agency may be misplaced.
There isare three main assumption in confronting with past. First one is psychological and is
related to healing ,forgiveness and reconciliation (unblocking painful memories and overcome
denial as part of hard work of mourning, widespread acknowledgment of repressed trauma ,
public dealing trauma, learn and transmit through generation) creating learning potential for
society. Second is considered as political and it is related in fostering democracy and respect for
human right. Third assumption is moral one and most important one, which aim is not to forget
victims and to evaluate individual and collective responsibility for suffering of the victims.
Denial is essential for survival of National Socialism even in democracy as Theodor Adorno
concluded. Among denial, continued presence of actors of previous regime limits transformation
of country and we will use that perspective to compare Balkan state, Germany and Spain.
However, it is important to mention that peace can be achieved without justice or democracy on
examples of West Germany confronted with its violent past during the 60’s with domestic trials
[and earlier on the international trial?!] along with changes of historical books, keeping members
of previous regime in new regime structure and Spain, that represent democratic state with full
achieved democratic mechanism still avoid confrontation with crimes made during Franco’s
regime. Also, similar happen in Serbia, and it could be seen mostly through history books that
hasn’t been changed still shifting focus on collective memory narratives forced by political
narrative of elite making revision of history in order to match with narrative. Regarding Serbia, it
is best seen on rehabilitation of fascist collaborators and number of historians that support claims Commented [OF2]: Croatia is doing well on that regard,
of two anti-fascist resistance movements and historians that claim that one was collaborator with too
BiH not so bad either… so this of course is very prominent in
fascist. Which means that you are making history more blurry while exploiting myths of Serbia, but can also be placed in a regional context, which
victimhood of own people using history as empirical science falsification of complicated and then help explain this political phenomenon/act.

sensitive past period .

Comparing models of dealing with past in we can emphasize it through Nurnberg processtrials,
ICTY tribunal and collective amnesia and example of Valley of Fallen (made by 30,000 Republican
prisoners glorifying victims that was part of fascist regime and also burial site of Franco, as a
materialized pact of oblivion which was started to be questioned 40 years after death of Franco
). Main argument that follow this model through which we should perceive those processes is
Commented [OF3]: Spelling?
Commented [OF4]: And still is discussed today, being
subject to mnemonic political battles and debates!

through degree of social consensus about past and recognizes abuses, removing history as a point
of contention and counter acting myth narratives used for demonization of other groups.
Following Nurnberg process most contested action, after discussing about forms of guilt is
various form of denial, because of existence of paraller memories. For the ICTY we can take
example of Carla Del Ponte which who summarizes that ICTY should contribute in writing history
of Yugoslavia disintegration and respond to demand for truth, reducing risk for repeating similar
crimes. We can agree that both Nurnberg tribunal and ICTY got little impact on German visions
of Nazi period and also visions of people from Former Yugoslavia on period during war, bringing
it back to dominance of narratives shared as well in Spain which tend to be buried and forgotten,
showing that trials and truth commissions does not impact in constructing collective memories.

Question 2 ENG: recom 19/25

Please based your answers on the December 17 readings and class lecture by Ana
Marjanović -Rudan

What is REKOM?

what are truth commissions? [Use the text by Ivanišević , B. December 3 class] Commented [OF5]: Your discussion of the truth
commissions and of RECOM is somewhat rushed and thin. I
believe there is more to pull out of the text.

Why is there a need for a regional commission in the former Yugoslavia?

Second part
Truth commissions are temporary and official, outside-of-court bodies which mission is to
research and make report about patterns of serious human right violations made in period of
autocratic government or misuse of institutions. Their main goal is to provide credible description
of rights violation in past and to provide testimonials and recognition of experience of victims
whose statement is most important source during research. Most important aspect of victim-
centric work of truth commissions is public platform for stories of victims.
Regional reconciliation is necessary because main goal of commission is to provide Registry of
human losses and places of torture which provides construct for public memory through fact,
enabling to narrow space of manipulation of narrative, it is against ethnic memorialization and
first step towards reform of school program of history. Those new narratives supposed to see
other as people and not as enemies.
RECOM supposed to be consortium made by high level NGO’s from Zagreb, Belgrade and Commented [OF6]: Explain the initials
Sarajevo aimed at establishing Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) organizing discussions When was formed? by who? Why?

consultations in support of forming such body requiring full support of government bodies Commented [OF7]: Is it suppose to be? Or is it?

followed by lack of consensus could be established through cross border network followed by
withdrew of one of leading organization from Sarajevo since they didn’t believed in viability of
cross-border region strategy followed with local NGOs from Bosnia . It was also followed with Commented [OF8]: Indeed
many victim organization reconciliations is interpreted as forgiving which they were not willing And so recom started with consultation sessions
Which was at least on the paper meant to be inclusive.
to accept. With those actions occurring RECOM was forced to specify aspects on suffering of
individuals, missing persons, right to truth, role of bystanders and recognition of the suffering of But what is the final aim of recom, if it is to take its next
step?
others in terms of “giving voice to the victims.”. Consensus has again mentioned in statement of
Belgrade’s Human Law Centre director pointing out that “justice for victims” is atmosphere in
which consensus can be built.
Main need for existence of regional commission for truth is to confront with constructed
narratives and to avoid rehabilitation of crime perpetuals shared with historian point of view Commented [OF9]: Indeed.
bringing it epistemology evidence replacing facts and allowing narratives to be part of collective So the aim of recom, if it will become a regional committee
endorsed by governments would be to established facts
memory and strengthening cohesion against joint enemy. Researching on facts of victims, telling which are currently being used for political battles of
victim stories, position is moving from ethno-centric point of view and focusing on undoubtable negation, denial etc.

facts using stories of victims, searchable data base that involves specific details about date of
victim killing or disappearance, stories and documentaries showing detention camps and torture
forming more human attitude that allows individual to form new approach and abandon “trench”
position regarding enemy .
But from your analysis what is missing is what it actually
aims to become… the comments about internal dynamics,
fights and power struggles between Tokaca and Kandic are
clear. How would these be analyzed in an academic
context? What could be said about that?

Final Exam grade: 80

Course grade: 86 (9)