Book Review, Transitional Justice in the Twenty-First Century: Beyond Truth Versus Justice (Naomi Roht-Arriaza & Javier Mariezcurrena eds., 2006) and Reconciliation in Divided Societies: Finding Common Ground (Erin Daly & Jeremy Sarkin eds., 2006)

It took a long time to get there but, near the close of the last millennium, humanity embraced measured accountability – instead of the extremes of impunity or vengeance – as the appropriate fate for perpetrators of mass atrocity. This embrace has prompted the construction of institutions, such as the International Criminal Court and the various ad hoc international or internationalized tribunals, to actualize this accountability imperative.

But this institution-building is only the start of the justice matrix. It is not the end point. A newer second generation of scholars and activists presses on. Agreeing on the need for accountability does not mean that existing methods of accountability should become insulated from study or critical inquiry with regard to their progress toward justice goals.