Question: To what extent, using the South African and Ugandan cases, can international institutions contribute to justice within a state after war or political violence, and to what extent do those institutions reflect problematic conceptions or relations of power that might inhibit justice?
The role of the international institutions in promoting justice in the states which suffer from extreme violence and civil wars can be different about the possible positive and negative consequences. However, this role is usually significant to influence the post-war development of the states and to determine the paths according to which the states’ governments should develop the principles of justice in the countries.
Referring to the South African and Ugandan cases, it is possible to state that the actions of the international institutions can have dramatic effect on the states’ development after the periods of political violence and civil wars, and these international institutions can contribute to the progress of the idea of justice significantly, but the impact can be not only positive but also negative.
If it is possible to observe the opportunities for the international institutions to influence the states’ development about overcoming the effects of civil wars and political violence, the institutions’ role in the process is always significant, and the position of international institutions can contribute to changing the vision of the concept of justice.
Mamdani determines two types of justice which are criminal justice and political justice, and these types are discussed as playing an important role in overcoming violence in South Africa (Mamdani presentation, November 15, 2013).
According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s decisions, it is more relevant to discuss justice as political, and the positive consequences of discussing the idea of justice are possible only when it is the survivors’ justice connected with the orientation to the political reforms (Mamdani presentation, November 15, 2013).
If the international institutions focus on corrective justice instead of political justice, the results of such a strategy can be less positive for coping with the problems of political violence and civil wars.
Thus, according to Branch, corrective justice is not the only effective and important concept related to justice because “there is also the broader concept of social or political justice, in the sense of establishing a social and political order in which the fundamental injustices that led to conflict and violence have been rectified” (Branch 2007: 193).
In the Ugandan case, the International Criminal Court played an important role in overcoming the post-war effects and in stating the ideals of justice, but the results and consequences were rather ineffective because of the wrongly chosen perspective for the cooperation between the government and international institutions.
The expected peace and justice were not brought to Uganda as a result of the International Criminal Court’s decisions. Branch states that “the ICC should not, in the name of justice, be complicit in that process” (Branch 2007: 196). Thus, the participation of the international institutions in regulating the situation in Uganda did not provide the expected positive results.
Referring to the cases of South Africa and Uganda, it is possible to state that international institutions can contribute to promoting justice significantly. Nevertheless, depending on the type of justice, the effects of the process can be rather different.
In spite of the fact that international institutions can reflect the problematic conceptions related to the civil war or political violence in the states to the great extent, the overall results of the process depend on the complex factors and strategies used by the international institutions to discuss the problem of justice or to provide the necessary reforms.
Works Cited
Branch, Adam. “Uganda’s Civil War and the Politics of ICC Intervention”. Ethics & International Affairs 21.2 (2007): 179-198. Print.
Mamdani, Mahmood. “After Nuremberg: The Historical Significance of the South African Transition”. UC Irvine School of Social Sciences. Irvine, California. 15 Nov. 2013. Lecture.