Forgiveness and transitional justice in the Czech Republic

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Journal of Conflict Resolution

Publication Date

6-1-2006

Volume

50

Issue

3

First Page

339

Last Page

367

Keywords

transitional justice, forgiveness, victims, Czech Republic

Abstract

This article examines major theoretical assumptions about forgiveness by victims of human rights abuses in the context of transitional justice in the Czech Republic. The authors hypothesize that forgiveness is facilitated by restoring equality between victims and perpetrators, namely: individual, social and political empowerment of victims; decreasing the superior position of perpetrators, especially through their punishment; and a repentant gesture of perpetrators towards victims, especially by apologizing. The results of path analysis confirm that religious belief, individual, social, and political empowerment, punishment, and apology directly promote forgiveness. This enables the authors to distinguish four types of forgiveness: religious, reparatory, retributive, and reconciliatory forgiveness. They suggest that policy interventions that promote forgiveness may not be mutually exclusive as often proposed in the dilemmas of transitional justice.

DOI

10.1177/0022002706286950

Print ISSN

00220027

E-ISSN

15528766

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2006 SAGE Publications

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

David, R., & Choi, S. Y. P. (2006). Forgiveness and transitional justice in the Czech Republic. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50(3), 339-367. doi: 10.1177/0022002706286950

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