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Seeking justice from afar: Diasporas and transitional justice

Research project
Inactive research
Project owner
School of Global Studies

Short description

Earlier research has shown how migrants can influence developments in their former home countries. However, less has been known about the role of diasporas in seeking justice, memorialization, and reconciliation after large-scale violence. Hence, the aim of the project has been to study how individuals and groups in the diaspora engage with transitional justice processes in two cases: Rwanda and Sri Lanka.

Background and research aims

Societies that have gone through genocide and war face considerable challenges related to justice, memorialization, and reconciliation. This project has drawn attention to and analyzed the fact that such processes - of transitional justice (TJ) - also take place outside of the country where the mass-atrocities occurred. Victims, perpetrators, and activists have, through migration, been spread around the globe. This means that the concerns and contestations that arise in TJ processes also play out in the diaspora. Earlier research has shown how migrants can influence developments in their former home countries. However, less has been known about the role of diasporas in seeking justice, memorialization, and reconciliation after large-scale violence. Hence, the aim of the project has been to study how individuals and groups in the diaspora engage with transitional justice processes in two cases: Rwanda and Sri Lanka. The project has looked at how diaspora actors initiate, participate in, and influence TJ processes as well as on how their TJ engagement shape diaspora identities.

Publications