Civil Society Mobilization Around Transitional Justice Processes

Abstract

Across different conflict and post-conflict settings, civil society plays a critical role in shaping transitional justice processes, whether through activism, advocacy, or symbolic interventions. This panel examines how civil society actors navigate constraints and mobilize for justice, accountability, and representation in politically fraught environments. In Turkey, activists have mobilized using innovative strategies to confront state violence and historical injustices. In Iraq, fragmented and selective justice mechanisms have led to competition among victim communities, underscoring the need for more inclusive, citizen-led approaches. In Northern Ireland, the piecemeal nature of peacebuilding has left key transitional justice issues, such as linguistic rights, unresolved, demonstrating the limits of a fragmented approach. Meanwhile, in Jaffa, the Yaffa Street Names Project highlights how symbolic heritage-making efforts by Jewish gentrifiers attempt to address past injustices but struggle to engage the Palestinian community, revealing the tensions between representation, gentrification, and grassroots activism. Together, these papers shed light on the opportunities and limitations of civil society mobilization and engagement in transitional justice processes.

Title	Details
What Explains the Absence of Official Memory in Post-Conflict States? Narrative Rivalry in Nepal, 2006–2024	View Paper Details
Overcoming the Mnemonic Security Dilemma: How Transnational Activists in Czechia and Germany Disarmed the Past	View Paper Details
Between Persistence and Constraint: Transitional Justice Activism and the Struggle for Accountability in Turkey	View Paper Details
Piecemeal Peacebuilding and The Trajectory of Discourse: Linguistic Rights in Post- Conflict North of Ireland/Northern Ireland	View Paper Details