Transitional Justice 2001F Problems in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Fall 2014 Lectures: Wednesdays 2:30-4:30 p.m. Tutorials: Wednesdays 4:30-5:30 p.m. Location: P&AB 148 Instructor: Lindsay Scorgie-Porter Office: SSC 2040A Office Hours: Wednesdays 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. Email: lscorgi@uwo.ca COURSE DESCRIPTION This course introduces students to interdisciplinary studies of transitional justice and post-conflict reconstruction, with an emphasis on questions of conflict. Students will examine key concepts regarding the aftermath of large-scale events of social violence, including war, genocide, and authoritarian rule. The core learning objective of TJ 2001F is to help students understand what it means to engage conflict, and to productively confront the problems in assessing and responding to conflict. In this regard, a fundamental focus in the course will be on critically analyzing conflict, at both the levels of idea and social experience, in order to fully appreciate the term s complexity. To do so, an interdisciplinary approach will be employed in the course, and thus insights from geography, history, politics, anthropology, law, language, sociology, and cultural studies will be included. Students will examine how conflict is not necessarily a negative event, but rather can be a healthy and productive dynamic in any social context. Students will thus consider how conflict can be a root element in processes conventionally understood in contradistinction to conflict, such as democracy, social equality, the pursuit of justice, peace-making, human rights protection, and civil society. Equally so, the course will explore how conflict is a fundamental condition under which societies are normally made; conflict is necessary in the building of identities, social orders, the rule of law, intra- and intercommunal relations, territories, and boundaries. The course will also focus on the means through which conflict is rendered into socially damaging, disruptive, and destructive violence. Conflict will be presented not simply as a
set of anti-social events and forces but instead as social dynamics that can be mobilized towards negative consequences. Rather than examining conflict as something that comes from outside of society, students will consider conflict as a normal aspect of social ordering that, under the right conditions, can become both self-destructive and rendered violent towards others. Special emphasis will be placed on how violent conflict is typically a consequence of political efforts to displace and suppress otherwise healthy forms of social conflict. The case study of the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath will frequently be used as a lens through which to help understand many of the core themes of the course. REQUIRED COURSE READINGS All readings will be posted online on OWL. All listed readings are required readings, to be done in advance of the lecture/tutorial. At times additional readings about current topical events will be added to the required reading list. These will be particularly relevant for tutorial discussions. At least one week advanced notice will be given with regards to these readings, and students will be notified via the course website. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Participation Value 15% Ongoing evaluation Critical Commentary Paper Value 10% Due date TBD Essay Value 40% Due November 19, 2014 Final Exam Value 35% During exam period Tutorials: The grade of 15% is divided as follows: 7.5% for regular attendance PLUS contribution 7.5% for contributing insightful discussion on a regular basis Please note: you will not receive marks for simply showing-up. To receive marks for the first 7.5%, you need to come prepared, having done all required readings, and being willing to discuss. Three or more undocumented absences will result in a grade of zero. Critical Commentary Paper: Students are required to write a critical commentary paper examining at least one week s assigned readings. The papers should be roughly 1,500 words in length. The purpose of the paper is not to summarize the readings. Rather, students should critically discuss one or two major points addressed in the readings, highlight important questions or issues identified by the author(s), and provide their own observations and critical analysis.
In addition, students will be required to prepare and present three questions / exploratory issues for the class to discuss, during the tutorial of the week of their assigned readings. The critical commentary paper (and discussion questions) are due at the start of that particular week s class. Please note that late penalties do not apply to these assignments and no extensions will be granted. Sign-up for presentation dates will take place during the first class in September. Essay: Students are required to write a research essay of 3,000 words (excluding bibliography and footnotes), and based on a minimum of eight academic sources. Topics and in-depth instructions for this assignment will be distributed in class in mid-september. This essay is due at the beginning of class on November 19, 2014. The late penalty for the essay is 5% per day, and essays will not be accepted after five days past the due date. Formatting requirements for both papers are the following: 12-point Times New Roman font double-spaced (except for footnotes and bibliography) 2.5cm margins pages numbered title page with your name, date, course title, and paper title footnotes and bibliography must be included Chicago Manual of Style citation format should be carefully and consistently followed throughout Please note: other than for serious cases of emergency, extensions will not be granted. Thus, having multiple work assignments due around the same time, employment responsibilities, or being out of town, do not constitute valid reasons for extensions. Extensions are very rarely granted; if requesting one, documentation of your reason (i.e. doctor s note, hospital records) must be provided. Final Exam: The final exam will take place during the December examination period; the specific date will be set by the Office of the Registrar. It will cover the entire course: readings, lectures, and tutorials. COURSE COMMUNICATION I am happy to meet with students during my office hours, both to discuss issues relating to the course, as well as your academic career more generally. If getting in-touch by email, please note that I will respond within two business days. Students should check the course website on a regular basis, as items such as the following may be posted throughout the year: additional tutorial readings, grading rubrics for essays, further instructions for assignments, notifications of any changes in lecture or tutorial schedules, etc.
LECTURE AND TUTORIAL SCHEDULE: Part I: Examining Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Sept. 10 Introduction Sept. 17 What is Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction? Mac Ginty, Roger, and Andrew Williams. Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development, in Conflict and Development (London: Routledge, 2009): 122-152. Roht-Arriaza, Naomi. The New Landscape of Transitional Justice, in Roht-Arriaza, Naomi, and Javier Mariezcurrena (eds.) Transitional Justice in the Twenty-First Century: Beyond Truth Versus Justice (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006): 1-16. Sept. 24 Sources of Intra-State Conflict Cordell, Karl, and Stefan Wolff. Motive, Means and Opportunity: A Framework for Understanding the Causes of Ethnic Conflict, in Ethnic Conflict: Causes Consequences Responses (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010): 44-75. Rubin, Barnett R. Sources of Violent Conflict, in Carment, David, and Albrecht Schnabel (eds.) Conflict Prevention from Rhetoric to Reality: Opportunities and Innovations (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2004): 21-40. Oct. 1 Understanding Peace Jeong, Ho-Won. Challenges for Peace and Concepts of Peace and Violence, in Peace and Conflict Studies: An Introduction (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2000): 7-29. Kemp, Graham. The Concept of Peaceful Societies, in Kemp, Graham, and Douglas P. Fry (eds.) Keeping the Peace: Conflict Resolution and Peaceful Societies Around the World (New York: Routledge, 2004): 1-10. Davies-Vengoechea, Ximena. A Positive Concept of Peace, in Kemp, Graham, and Douglas P. Fry (eds.) Keeping the Peace: Conflict Resolution and Peaceful Societies Around the World (New York:
Routledge, 2004): 11-19. Oct. 8 Peacebuilding and Democratization Ponzio, Richard J. Analytical Tools to Understand and Evaluate Democratic Authority and Rule of Law Institutionalization After War and International Peacebuilding through Democracy and Rule of Law Promotion: From the Cold War s End to the Peacebuilding Commission, in Democratic Peacebuilding: Aiding Afghanistan and Other Fragile States (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011): 31-57, and 69-97. Oct. 15 The Role of the United Nations Mayall, James. Introduction, in Berdal, Mats, and Spyros Economides (eds.) United Nations Interventionism, 1991-2004 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007): 1-31. Chesterman, Simon. East Timor, in Berdal, Mats, and Spyros Economides (eds.) United Nations Interventionism, 1991-2004 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007): 192-216. Part II: Actors in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Oct. 22 Case Study: Rwandan Genocide and its Aftermath Hintjens, Helen. When Identity Becomes a Knife: Reflecting on the Genocide in Rwanda. Ethnicities 1, 1 (April 2001): 25-55. Uvin, Peter, and Charles Mironko. Western and Local Approaches to Justice in Rwanda. Global Governance 9, 2 (2003): 219-231. Uvin, Peter. Difficult choices in the new post-conflict agenda: the international community in Rwanda after the genocide. Third World Quarterly 22, 2 (2001): 177-189. (If you feel like you need more background/overview of what happened with regards to the Rwandan genocide, see this BBC article and explore further links on both the genocide and its aftermath: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26875506 this is not mandatory reading.) Oct. 29 Designing Democracies Sisk, Timothy D. Democratization and Peacebuilding: Perils and
Promises, in Crocker, Chester A., Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall (eds.) Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict (Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2001): 785-800. Reilly, Benjamin. Institutional Designs for Diverse Democracies: Consociationalism, Centripetalism and Communalism Compared. European Political Science 11, 2 (2012): 259-270. Belloni, Roberto. Peacebuilding and Consociational Electoral Engineering in Bosnia and Herzegovina. International Peacekeeping 11, 2 (2004): 332-353. Nov. 5 Civil Society Belloni, Roberto. Civil Society in War-to-Democracy Transitions, in Jarstad, Anna K., and Timothy D. Sisk (eds.) From War to Democracy: Dilemmas of Peacebuilding (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008): 182-210. Gready, Paul. You re Either With Us or Against Us : Civil Society and Policy-Making in Post-Genocide Rwanda. African Affairs 109, 437 (2010): 1-21. Nov. 12 The Political Economy of Post-War Reconstruction Bojicic-Dzelilovic, Vesna. World Bank, NGOs and the Private Sector in Post-War Reconstruction, in Newman, Edward, and Albrecht Schnabel (eds.) Recovering from Civil Conflict: Reconciliation, Peace and Development (Abingdon: Routledge, 2002): 81-98. Mac Ginty, Roger, and Andrew Williams. Poverty, Profit and the Political Economy of Violent Conflict, in Conflict and Development (London: Routledge, 2009): 24-45. Part III: Critical Issues in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Nov. 19 Considering the Impact of Truth and Justice AcAuliffe, Padraig. Transitional Justice and the Rule of Law: The Perfect Couple or Awkward Bedfellows? Hague Journal on the Rule of Law 2, 2 (2010): 127-154. Corey, Allison, and Sandra F. Joireman. Retributive Justice: The Gacaca Courts in Rwanda. African Affairs 103, 410 (2004): 73-89.
Sarkin, Jeremy. The Tension Between Justice and Reconciliation in Rwanda: Politics, Human Rights, Due Process and the Role of the Gacaca Courts in Dealing with the Genocide. Journal of African Law 45, 2 (2001): 143-172. Nov. 26 Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Waldorf, Lars. Just Peace? Integrating DDR and Transitional Justice, in Sriram, Chandra Lekha, et al (eds.) Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding on the Ground: Victims and Ex-Combatants (New York: Routledge, 2013): 62-80. Sriram, Chandra Lekha, Victim-Centred Justice and DDR in Sierra Leone, in Sriram, Chandra Lekha, et al (eds.) Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding on the Ground: Victims and Ex-Combatants (New York: Routledge, 2013): 159-177. Dec. 3 Gender in Post-Conflict Reconstruction Mazurana, Dyan. Gender and the Causes and Consequences of Armed Conflict, in Mazurana, Dyan, et al (eds.) Gender, Conflict, and Peacekeeping (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005): 29-42. Vayrynen, Tarja. Gender and Peacebuilding, in Richmond, Oliver P. (ed.) Palgrave Advances in Peacebuilding: Critical Developments and Approaches (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010): 137-153. IMPORTANT INFORMATION PLEASE READ Use of Electronic Devices Electronics are increasingly an important component in learning. Therefore, laptop use is permitted as long as it does not disrupt the learning experience of other students. Disruptive behavior will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and may result in the suspension of laptop privileges. Please note that all cellphones, music players, and other electronic gadgets should be turned off during class. Recording of lectures is NOT permitted. Academic Offenses Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy specifically the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the
following: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergr ad.pdf. All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com (http://www.turnitin.com). Accessibility at Western Please contact poliscie@uwo.ca if you require any information in plain text format, or if any other accommodation can make the course material and/or physical space accessible to you. Mental Health at Western If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health. Medical Illness Policy For UWO Policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness and a downloadable SMC see: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/accommodation_medical.pdf [downloadable Student Medical Certificate (SMC): https://studentservices.uwo.ca/ under the Medical Documentation heading]. Students seeking academic accommodation on medical grounds for any missed tests, exams, participation components, and/or assignments worth 10% or more of their final grade must apply to the Academic Counseling office of their home faculty and provide documentation. Academic accommodation cannot be granted by the instructor or department. Plagiarism and Other Important Information "Plagiarism: Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words. Whenever students take an idea, or a passage from another author, they must acknowledge their debt both by using quotation marks where appropriate and by proper referencing such as footnotes or citations. Plagiarism is a major academic offence." (see Scholastic Offence Policy in the Western Academic Calendar).
Plagiarism Checking: "All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com ( http://www.turnitin.com )." Multiple-choice tests/exams: "Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating." Note: Information excerpted and quoted above are Senate regulations from the Handbook of Scholarship and Academic Policy. http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/ PLAGIARISM* In writing scholarly papers, you must keep firmly in mind the need to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged borrowing of another writer's words or ideas. Different forms of writing require different types of acknowledgement. The following rules pertain to the acknowledgements necessary in academic papers. A. In using another writer's words, you must both place the words in quotation marks and acknowledge that the words are those of another writer. You are plagiarizing if you use a sequence of words, a sentence or a paragraph taken from other writers without acknowledging them to be theirs. Acknowledgement is indicated either by (1) mentioning the author and work from which the words are borrowed in the text of your paper; or by (2) placing a footnote number at the end of the quotation in your text, and including a correspondingly numbered footnote at the bottom of the page (or in a separate reference section at the end of your essay). This footnote should indicate author, title of the work, place and date of publication, and page number. Method (2) given above is usually preferable for academic essays because it provides the reader with more information about your sources and leaves your text uncluttered with parenthetical and tangential references. In either case words taken from another author must be enclosed in quotation marks or set off from your text by single spacing and indentation in such a way that they cannot be mistaken for your own words. Note that you cannot avoid indicating quotation simply by changing a word or phrase in a sentence or paragraph which is not your own. B. In adopting other writers' ideas, you must acknowledge that they are theirs. You are plagiarizing if you adopt, summarize, or paraphrase other writers' trains of argument, ideas or sequences of ideas without acknowledging their authorship according to the method of acknowledgement given in 'A' above. Since the words are your own, they need not be enclosed in quotation marks. Be certain, however, that the words you use are entirely your own; where you must use words or phrases from your source, these should be enclosed in quotation marks, as in 'A' above.
Clearly, it is possible for you to formulate arguments or ideas independently of another writer who has expounded the same ideas, and whom you have not read. Where you got your ideas is the important consideration here. Do not be afraid to present an argument or idea without acknowledgement to another writer, if you have arrived at it entirely independently. Acknowledge it if you have derived it from a source outside your own thinking on the subject. In short, use of acknowledgements and, when necessary, quotation marks is necessary to distinguish clearly between what is yours and what is not. Since the rules have been explained to you, if you fail to make this distinction your instructor very likely will do so for you, and they will be forced to regard your omission as intentional literary theft. Plagiarism is a serious offence which may result in a student's receiving an 'F' in a course or, in extreme cases in their suspension from the University. *Reprinted by permission of the Department of History Adopted by the council of the Faculty of Social Science, October, 1970; approved by the Dept. of History August 13, 1991