Justice Now and Later: How Measures Taken to Address Wrongdoings during Armed Conflict Affect Postconflict Justice

Abstract

Transitional justice has become a default response when rebuilding postconflict societies. Indeed, to reconcile and move forward, it is argued that societies need to confront the violence of the past. But what factors influence when and how past violence will be addressed? We argue that judicial and quasi-judicial processes initiated while armed conflict is ongoing have a substantial impact on the judicial policies pursued once conflict has ended. Through an analysis of during- and postconflict justice in Colombia since 2000, we demonstrate that a history of addressing human rights violations makes it more likely that transitional justice will be adopted given three mechanisms: policy precedent, institutional repertories and public expectations. We analyse this relationship through global patterns of during- and postconflict justice since 1946. Our findings confirm the expectation that justice polices pursued (or not pursued) during conflict are a strong factor in understanding how the past will be addressed post conflict.