PSCI 248 - Special Topics in International Relations

May be repeatable for credit.

SPRING 2020 TOPIC: TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE - This course will deal with the problems and challenges faced by any country that attempts to establish accountability for past abuses of human rights in the aftermath of conflict or internal upheaval. The initial classes will offer a history of international accountability since the groundbreaking Nuremberg trials following the Holocaust and then examine the various philosophical and moral issues associated with this subject. Subsequent classes will analyze the pros and cons of all of the major strategies and mechanisms available for the pursuit of post conflict justice including the international ad hoc criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia (the ICTR and the ICTY), the International Criminal Court (the ICC), and the” hybrid” tribunals in Sierra Leone and East Timor. The course will also examine the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions that have been employed in a range of cases, including South Africa, Guatemala, and East Timor (now Timor Leste) as well as the various informal transitional justice indigenous mechanisms that have been tried in various countries including Uganda and Rwanda. The final classes of the semester will be devoted to the challenges associated with the reconstruction of the domestic justice system in post conflict countries and will consider non-criminal sanctions and deterrents such as lustration (vetting) and reparations.

Anticipated Terms Offered: PERIODICALLY