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Cited by 535War, Law, and JusticePolitical Conflict and GovernanceMemory, violence, and history

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Closing the Books: Transitional Justice in Historical Perspective

Elster, Jon·2004·Cambridge University Press eBooks
DOI 10.1017/cbo9780511607011
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Abstract

An analysis of transitional justice - retribution and reparation after a change of political regime - from Athens in the fifth century BC to the present. Part I, 'The Universe of Transitional Justice', describes more than thirty transitions, some of them in considerable detail, others more succinctly. Part II, 'The Analytics of Transitional Justice', proposes a framework for explaining the variations among the cases - why after some transitions wrongdoers from the previous regime are punished severely and in other cases mildly or not at all, and victims sometimes compensated generously and sometimes poorly or not at all. After surveying a broad range of justifications and excuses for wrongdoings and criteria for selecting and indemnifying victims, the 2004 book concludes with a discussion of three general explanatory factors: economic and political constraints, the retributive emotions, and the play of party politics.

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Authors
Elster, J.
Affiliations
Columbia University (US)
Corresponding author
Elster, Jon
ORCID
Elster, Jon
Venue
Cambridge University Press eBooks
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Published
2004-09-06
DOI
10.1017/cbo9780511607011
OpenAlex
W4211159393
Cited by
531
References
88
Citations by year
2026: 24 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 50 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 39 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 36 · 2012: 20
FWCI
16.89
Type
book
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 1898 d)
Locations
Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › War, Law, and Justice
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Memory, violence, and history
Keywords
transitional justice, retribution, reparations, victim compensation, victim selection, party politics, Athens, judicial history

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