CAHSS Faculty Articles
Sitting on Powder Kegs: Socioeconomic Rights in Transitional Societies
Department
Department of Conflict Resolution Studies
Publication Date
7-2009
Publication Title
The International Journal of Transitional Justice
ISSN
1752-7724
Volume
3
Issue/No.
2
First Page
163
Last Page
182
Abstract
Considerable progress has been made in the field of transitional justice in recent years, signified by such landmarks as a permanent international criminal court. Unaddressed aspects of transition remain, however, which need serious attention if peace is to be sustainable in the long term. Oppressive political arrangements favor particular segments of society while simultaneously disenfranchising and economically and socially excluding the less powerful. To date, transitional justice initiatives have focused on the cessation of violence, establishing order and correcting civil and political injustices. Social and economic factors have taken second or no place at all. Yet, social and economic grievances can be ‘powder kegs’ that, if left unaddressed, threaten to blow up peace initiatives. Zimbabwe provides empirical evidence of the dangers of marginalizing economic and social imperatives in the transition from repression.
NSUWorks Citation
Muvingi, I. (2009). Sitting on Powder Kegs: Socioeconomic Rights in Transitional Societies. The International Journal of Transitional Justice, 3 (2), 163-182. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijp010
ORCID ID
0000-0003-3937-0431
DOI
10.1093/ijtj/ijp010