The politics of truth and reconciliation in South Africa

Description:

"The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up to deal with the human rights violations of apartheid during the years 1960-1994. However, as Wilson shows, the TRC's restorative justice approach to healing the nation did not always serve the needs of communities at a local level. Based on extended anthropological fieldwork, this book illustrates the impact of the TRC in urban African communities in the Johannesburg area. While a religious constituency largely embraced the Commission's religious-redemptive language of reconciliation, Wilson argues that the TRC had little effect on popular ideas of justice as retribution. This provocative study deepens our understanding of post-apartheid South Africa and the use of human rights discourse. It ends on a call for more cautious and realistic expectations about what human rights institutions can achieve in democratizing countries."--Jacket.

subjects: Apartheid,  Political aspects,  Political aspects of Reconciliation,  Politics and government,  Race relations,  Reconciliation,  Retribution,  South Africa,  South Africa. Truth and Reconciliation Commission,  Post-apartheid era,  Verzoening,  Truth and Reconciliation Commission,  Minority Studies,  Politique et gouvernement,  Afrique du Sud,  Mensenrechten,  SOCIAL SCIENCE,  Réconciliation,  Aspect politique,  Anthropology,  Afrique du Sud. Truth and Reconciliation Commission,  Cultural,  Relations raciales,  Rétribution (Théologie),  Discrimination & Race Relations,  South africa, politics and government,  South africa, race relations

Places: South Africa

Times: 1994-