Transitional Justice for Foxes
Conflict, Pluralism and the Politics of Compromise

Offers a pluralist reading of transitional justice to deal with conflicts constructively and to enable diversity in approaches.

Frank Haldemann (Author)

9781108928731, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 June 2024

262 pages
24.3 x 16.9 x 1.5 cm, 0.47 kg

'Transitional Justice for Foxes is a significant contribution to the field. It casts much-needed suspicion and scepticism on categories that we take for granted, the critical re-examination of which requires not only attention to underlying societal factors that resist rigid categorisation, but also an inward reflection on the attitudes through which we address justice concerns in societies ravaged by violence … Haldemann's main goal is to generate an open debate on these difficult issues, countering the influence of the normal model on the field of transitional justice. In this sense, this ambitious book is successful and delivers what it promises.' Felix E. Torres, Jurisprudence

There is a memorable line by ancient Greek poet Archilochus: 'The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.' Drawing on this metaphor made popular by Isaiah Berlin, this book sets out to 'think like a fox' about transitional justice in an intellectual environment largely dominated by hedgehogs. Critical of the unitary 'hedgehog-like' vision underlying mainstream discourse, this book proposes a pluralist reading of the field. It asks: What would it mean for transitional justice to constructively deal with conflicts of values and interests in societies grappling with a violent past? And what would it imply to make meaningful room for diversity, to see 'the many' rather than just 'the one'?

1. Setting the Stage
2. Conflict
3. Pluralism
4. Compromise
Conclusion
Select Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Jurisprudence & philosophy of law [LAB], Political science & theory [JPA], History of ideas [JFCX], Social & political philosophy [HPS]