The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper reported today that the rebuilding of Afghanistan will take a decade or more. In the article, Canada's Chief of Defence Staff debunks a number of TJ myths--including "peacekeeping," for which Canada has made a name for itself in the post-WWII era.
The wondrous element of all of this is that people seem genuinely shocked that the process of transitional justice is not going to happen overnight. The efforts of the U.S. in Iraq have provoked similar reactions. All of this seems, suspiciously, to indicate one of two things: 1. either our governments know this and have carefully hidden it from the public; or 2. before committing to deployments and involvement in war-torn countries, our governments themselves have not thought things through. Sadly, my money's on the latter.
Governments need to understand the kinds of things that researchers in the field of TJ have begun to learn.
Interesting article. I believe governments are in fact aware it wont happen overnight, but believe the best way to contribute to the process is through the creation of new institutions that should, in the longer term, deliver justice, good governance, development etc.
That international justice mechanisms are limited is also recognized for the most part, and thus why policy makers invest in other big institution building initiatives like security sector reform, economic 'development', gender equality etc.
What is perhaps avoided by the policy maker (in public anyway) is the rich, diverse and contradictory contexts they seek to build such institutions in - contexts that result in very different outcomes than anticipated by the policy makers.
The challenging question is, can any one massive bureaucracy based in NY, Ottawa, London or Geneva realistically respond to every nuance of the field? Do budget cycles and public accountability permit the time and patience it takes to do the field research and design the appropriate mechanisms?
I often puzzle on how such gaps will be bridged in the realm of TJ. Anyone know of models that seek to bring the international together with the local to develop complementary or at least coordinated approaches? Has Canada ever put as much funds or attention to something that didnt fit into its traditional tool kit of transitional justice?
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