Time and Temporality in Transitional and Post-Conflict Societies (Routledge Advances in Sociology)

"Implicit conceptions of time associated with progress and linearity have influenced scholars and practitioners in the fields of transitional justice and peacebuilding, but time and temporality have rarely been systematically considered. Time and Temporality in Transitional and Post-Conflict Societies examines how time is experienced, constructed and used in transitional and post-conflict societies. This collection critically questions linear, transitional justice time and highlights the different temporalities that exist at local and institutional levels through original empirical research. Presenting empirical and often ethnographic research from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cambodia, Mozambique, Palestine/Israel, Rwanda and South Africa, contributors use a temporal lens to investigate key issues including: transitional justice institutions, peace processes, victimhood, perpetrators, accountability, reparations, forgiveness, reconciliation and memoralisation. This timely monograph will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, interested in fields such as political science, international relations, anthropology, transitional justice and conflict resolution. It will also be relevant to conflict resolution and peacebuilding practitioners."--Provided by publisher Cover 1 Half Title 4 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Table of Contents 8 List of figures 10 Acknowledgements 11 List of contributors 12 1. Introduction: Temporal perspectives on transitional and post-conflict societies 16 Introduction 16 The time dimensions studied in this book 19 The relevance of this volume 24 Structure of the book 26 Note 29 References 29 PART I: Questioning transitional justice time 32 2. Time and reconciliation: Negotiating with ghosts 32 Introduction 32 Timing: when does it start? 33 Tempo: what is the appropriate pace? 37 Closure: when is it over? 41 Conclusion 46 Notes 47 References 47 3. Transitional justice time: Uncle San, Aunty Yan, and outreach at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal 50 Introduction 50 Notes 62 References 63 4. Peace processes and social acceleration: The case of Colombia 65 Introduction 65 Time and peace processes 66 Multiple temporalities and social acceleration 67 The conflict and peace process in Colombia 69 The FARC’s apologies 71 Forgiveness in Bojayá 72 Process not moment (Proceso no coyuntura) 74 The peace plebiscite and the acceleration of forgiveness 75 Conclusion 77 Notes 77 References 77 PART II: Coexisting and conflicting temporalities 80 5. Anthropological reflections on violence and time in Argentina 80 Introduction 80 Lived experiences of time 82 Irreparable ethical holes 85 Chronicles of war 87 The materiality of violence 89 Remembering loyalty 91 Conclusions: Transitional justice and temporality 93 Notes 95 References 95 6. Negotiating temporalities of accountability in communities in conflict in Africa 99 Introduction 99 Temporalities of global and local accountability 101 Spiralling of political violence in Mozambique over time 104 Cultural notions of serious offences 105 Case study of embodied accountability 106 Embodied accountability and temporalities of resolution 112 Conclusion 113 References 114 7. Still waiting: Victim policies, social change and fixed liminality 117 Introduction 117 Social time and temporal domination 119 Experiences of waiting 121 The effects of waiting 129 Fixed Liminality 131 Conclusions 133 Notes 134 References 134 PART III: Intergenerational transmission and memorialisation 137 8. Time to hear the other side: Transitional temporalities and transgenerational narratives in post-genocide Rwanda 137 Introduction 137 Transitional priorities and state dominant temporality 140 Vision 2020: future-oriented temporality and transitional demographics 141 YCD: transitional identities and transgenerational temporalities 143 From rear-view mirror to windshield: trajectory of transgenerational temporalities 145 YCD’s narratives and plural temporalities in post-genocide Rwanda 150 Conclusion 153 References 154 9. Undoing Brazil’s dictatorial past 158 Introduction 158 Brazil’s troubled past 159 Altered pasts 163 Alternate histories 166 Conclusion 168 Notes 170 References 172 10. Ruins, resistance and pluritemporality in Palestine-Israel 176 Introduction 176 Foundations: landscapes and the land 177 Constructs: walking through time 181 Movement: restoration and resistance 187 Conclusion 190 Notes 191 References 192 11. Conclusion: Defusing time bombs: Towards an understanding of time and temporality in peacebuilding 195 Introduction 195 Key findings 195 Scholarly relevance and policy implications 199 References 202 Index 203 "Implicit conceptions of time associated with progress and linearity have influenced scholars and practitioners in the fields of transitional justice and peacebuilding, but time and temporality have rarely been systematically considered. Time and Temporality in Transitional and Post-Conflict Societies examines how time is experienced, constructed and used in transitional and post-conflict societies. This collection critically questions linear, transitional justice time and highlights the different temporalities that exist at local and institutional levels through original empirical research. Presenting empirical and often ethnographic research from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cambodia, Mozambique, Palestine/Israel, Rwanda and South Africa, contributors use a temporal lens to investigate key issues including: transitional justice institutions, peace processes, victimhood, perpetrators, accountability, reparations, forgiveness, reconciliation and memoralisation. This timely monograph will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, interested in fields such as political science, international relations, anthropology, transitional justice and conflict resolution. It will also be relevant to conflict resolution and peacebuilding practitioners" (ed.)