Commissions in Transitional Justice: The Transnational Elites in the Engine Room

Abstract

This chapter investigates the socio-professional composition of commissions active in transitional justice. Studying the various elites active in commissions in Africa and South America, the chapter contributes an exploratory study of the similarities and differences between such institutions as evidenced in the people that were selected to serve in them. Based on original data on members in 21 commissions, the chapter analyses differences in the socio-professional composition in commissions labelled as either ‘truth and reconciliation’ or ‘inquiry’. The analysis shows how elite membership in these commissions differ, but also how these institutions were linked to the development of a larger, transnational field in which specific ideals about transitional justice became dominant. In this field, the identified elite members often became repeat players that served on several commissions. This allowed them to help shape the practices of specific commissions as well as to impact the ideals and practices of transitional justice.

Keywords: transitional justice, truth and reconciliation commissions, commissions of inquiry