Socioeconomic Justice
International Intervention and Transition in Post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina

The first systematic analysis of socioeconomic violence in war and its implications for post-war justice processes.

Daniela Lai (Author)

9781108836449, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 18 June 2020

200 pages, 6 tables
15 x 23 x 2 cm, 0.5 kg

'… this book is an invaluable source for all those interested in teaching or researching post-conflict or transitional societies, grassroots approaches to justice, critical international relations, as well as political economy of war and peace.' Zoran Vuckovac, KULT_online

Does socioeconomic justice belong within transitional justice? Daniela Lai provides the first systematic analysis of experiences of socioeconomic violence during war and how they give rise to strong, but unheeded justice claims in the aftermath. She redefines socioeconomic justice as the redress of violence rooted in the political economy of conflict, and transitional justice as a social practice that belongs among grassroots activists as much as it does in courtrooms and truth commissions. Furthermore, she examines the role of international actors that rely on narrow, legalistic approaches to transitional justice, while also promoting economic reforms that hinder the emergence and pursuit of socioeconomic justice claims by conflict-affected communities. Drawing on a unique set of in-depth interviews with Bosnian communities, international officials and grassroots activists, this book provides new theoretical and empirical insights on the link between justice and political economy, on international interventions, and on Bosnia's post-war and post-socialist transformation.

1. Introduction: 'We Only Fight for Social Justice'
2. Theorising Socioeconomic Justice for Post-War Societies
3. Bosnia and Herzegovina Between its Post-War and Post-Socialist Condition
4. The International Political Economy of Socioeconomic Injustice
5. Socioeconomic Violence as a Feature of War
6. Socioeconomic Justice as a Post-War Justice Claim
7. Socioeconomic (In)Justice as a Catalyst for Social Mobilisation
8. Conclusion
Appendix: Researching Marginalised Stories of Socioeconomic Violence and (In)Justice
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], Politics & government [JP]