Communication & Grassroots Transitional Justice Initiatives: Voicing Experiences, Discontent and Aspirations ‘From Below’

Abstract

Whilst their importance has been routinely emphasised, there is no guarantee that official State-led transitional justice mechanisms will be established to address the legacy of a difficult past. Equally, the adequacy of those established cannot be guaranteed. Whether in response to a literal absence or an absence of satisfactory outcomes, grassroots actors have repeatedly mobilised and engaged in initiatives to address this void. Drawing upon empirical research on Northern Ireland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Syria, this panel explores the communicative aspect of these initiatives. Examining grassroots initiatives which entailed truth recovery, the documentation of enforced disappearances, and memorialisation, it will analyse how grassroots actors mobilise in pursuit of justice, how grassroots initiatives can resist and challenge official State-led mechanisms/dominant narratives, and the positioning of grassroots initiatives within a transitional justice framework. In doing so, papers in this panel will assess how grassroots actors communicate their experiences, discontent, and aspirations within a transitional justice setting.

Title	Details
Victim-Driven and Community-Led Truth Recovery in Northern Ireland: Agency, Resistance, and Alternative Approaches to Uncovering Truth	View Paper Details
Margins as Method Grassroots Justice Initiatives and the Expanding Horizons of Transitional Justice	View Paper Details
Navigating Syria’s Transitional Justice Architecture: Informal Documentation of Enforced Disappearance	View Paper Details
‘Vernacular Institutional Memory’: Emerging Narratives on a Contested Past and How They Adhere (or Not) to the ‘Proper Use of Memory’ Within Transitional Justice	View Paper Details