The DOI matches its Crossref record; 20 of the 20 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Beyond Legalism: Towards a Thicker Understanding of Transitional Justice
Abstract
The field of transitional justice is increasingly characterized by the dominance of legalism to the detriment of both scholarship and practice. The first part of the paper examines what is meant by legalism and its consequences in the field through a number of overlapping themes: ‘legalism as seduction’, the ‘triumph’ of human rights, and the tendency towards ‘seeing like a state’. The second part considers a number of correctives to such leanings which are analysed as encouraging legal humility, exploring the human rights as development axis, and finally developing a criminology of transitional justice. As law's place at the heart of transition from conflict is now secure, the time is right for a more honest appraisal of the limitations of legalism and a correspondingly greater willingness to countenance the role of other [non‐legal] actors and forms of knowledge. ‘Letting go of legalism’ will both thicken the subject and deliver more effective change on the ground.
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Citations
Cites
Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry
Ignatieff, M. (2001) · Princeton University Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9781400842841 · Cited by 1,267
CHRISTIE, N. (1977) · The British Journal of Criminology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjc.a046783 · Cited by 1,084
The Quality of Democracy: Why the Rule of Law Matters
O’Donnell, G. (2004) · Journal of Democracy · doi:10.1353/jod.2004.0076 · Cited by 649
The Fate of Public International Law: Between Technique and Politics
Koskenniemi, M. (2007) · The Modern Law Review · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2230.2006.00624.x · Cited by 487
Beyond Impunity: Can International Criminal Justice Prevent Future Atrocities?
Akhavan, P. (2001) · American Journal of International Law · doi:10.2307/2642034 · Cited by 450
Putting the ‘rights‐based approach’ to development into perspective
Cornwall, A., & Nyamu‐Musembi, C. (2004) · Third World Quarterly · doi:10.1080/0143659042000308447 · Cited by 422
Carothers, T. (1998) · Foreign Affairs · doi:10.2307/20048791 · Cited by 402
Translator's Introduction: The Force of Law: Toward a Sociology of the Juridical Field
Terdiman, R. (1987) · bepress Legal Repository · Cited by 394
Transitional Justice as Ordinary Justice
Posner, E. A., & Vermeule, A. (2004) · Harvard Law Review · doi:10.2307/4093461 · Cited by 347
Thickening Thin Concepts and Theories: Combining Large N and Small in Comparative Politics
Coppedge, M. (1999) · Comparative Politics · doi:10.2307/422240 · Cited by 215
Cited by
State-Level Effects of Transitional Justice: What Do We Know?
Thoms, O. N. T., Ron, J., & Paris, R. (2010) · International Journal of Transitional Justice · doi:10.1093/ijtj/ijq012 · Cited by 236
Metadata
- Authors
- McEvoy, K.
- Venue
- Journal of Law and Society
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2007-11-20
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 411-440
- ISSN
- 0263-323X (ISSN-L)
- 1467-6478
- OpenAlex
- W2091987512
- Cited by
- 601
- References
- 20
- FWCI
- 68.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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