Title: Closing the books : transitional justice in historical perspective /
Authors: Elster, Jon, 1940-
Publisher: Cambridge University Press,
Year: 2004
Subjects: Justice, Administration of Political aspects; Political crimes and offenses; Ex post facto laws.; Revolutions; Restorative justice.
Abstract: "This book offers an analysis of transitional justice - retribution and reparation after a change of political regime - from Athens in the fifth century B.C. to the present. Part I, "The Universe of Transitional Justice," describes more than thirty transitions, some of them in considerable detail, others more succinctly. Part II, "Analytics of Transitional Justice," proposes a framework for explaining the variations among the cases: why after some transitions wrongdoers from the previous regime are punished severely and in other cases mildly or not at all, and why victims are sometimes compensated generously and sometimes poorly or not at all.
Contents: The Universe of Transitional Justice -- Athens in 411 and 403 BC -- The French restorations in 1814 and 1815 -- The larger universe of cases -- Analytics of Transitional Justice -- The structure of transitional justice -- Wrongdoers -- Victims -- Constraints -- Emotions -- Politics.