Book Review: Annie R Bird, US Foreign Policy on Transitional Justice
| Author | Adriana Rudling |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929916677887 |
| Published date | 01 February 2017 |
| Date | 01 February 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book ReviewsInternational Relations |
98 Political Studies Review 15 (1)
increasingly evolved, even if actual internation-
alisation has lagged behind. Institutional differ-
ences between countries and regions demonstrate
the influence of the political component on the
political economy of natural gas.
The third chapter, ‘The Background to Energy
Interdependence in Euro-Russian Relations’,
explores the energy interdependence between the
EU and Russia, which has evolved within a com-
plex set of both infrastructural and institutional
specificities. Moreover, negative interdependence
between the EU and Russia has emerged with
Caspian geopolitics. The fourth chapter on ‘The
Europeanization of Energy Policies’ studies the
EU’s gas policies paradigms, which aim to dimin-
ish the influence of gas champions, including
Gazprom, within the EU. The fifth chapter, ‘FSU
Geopolitics and Weaponization of EU-Russia
Energy Interdependencies’, explains the 2014 cri-
sis in Ukraine, which reinforced conflictual rela-
tions. It also led to the collapse of the Pan-European
order of values declared in the Charter of Paris in
1990. On the other hand, it has created an opportu-
nity for the EU to become a mediator in the region.
In summary, Belyi demonstrates how, for
example, the 2014 political conflict in Ukraine
has turned interdependence into a political
instrument between the EU and Russia; how-
ever, he fails to mention that Qatar and Iran,
with the second and third largest global gas
reserves, also attempt to affect EU inter-
dependence with Russia. The book is insightful
for researchers, energy policy-makers, students
of international relations and those who study
EU–Russia energy relations.
Fatemeh Shayan
(University of Isfahan, Iran; University of
Tampere, Finland)
© The Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1478929916676952
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
US Foreign Policy on Transitional Justice by
Annie R Bird. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2015. 223pp., £47.99 (h/b), ISBN 9780199338412
US Foreign Policy on Transitional Justice
offers valuable insights into a fascinating but
sadly overlooked aspect of transitional justice,
namely, US support, involvement and articula-
tion of post-conflict accountability abroad. The
volume is not only commendable for the rich-
ness of its original material, which comprises
almost 200 interviews and a systematic longi-
tudinal analysis of US government documents
and UN and non-governmental organisation
(NGO) reports, but also for the analytical
framework it proposes for the interpretation of
transitional justice as an extension of foreign
policy.
Conceptualising US transitional justice
policy as either symbolic or selective, retribu-
tive and strategic, Bird examines US involve-
ment in three cases, namely, Cambodia, Liberia
and Colombia. The Cambodian ECCC
(Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of
Cambodia) was an instance where support
developed slowly and almost begrudgingly due
to previous US engagement there. Annie Bird
masterfully shows it to be a perfect example of
the US prioritising politics over principles
insofar as the ECCC focuses on special legal
proceedings against individuals who carried
the highest responsibility for atrocities com-
mitted between 1975 and 1979. Similarly,
Charles Taylor’s prosecution in Liberia
received the brunt of US attention in compari-
son to the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation
Commission (TRC), whose criticism of
President Sirleaf was difficult to tolerate in cer-
tain circles. Finally, US support for the
Colombian Justice and Peace Law, and the
peace process initiated by former President
Uribe, hinged on strengthening the legal
aspects, particularly with regard to allowing
the extradition of top paramilitaries involved in
the drug trade.
Inspiring as it is, US Foreign Policy on
Transitional Justice does not seem to use its
sources to their fullest utility. The interview list
in the appendix is truly impressive, but there
are times when the treatment of the topics
seems cursory. This could have perhaps been
helped by a more restrictive case selection
strategy so as to allow more attention to be
dedicated to each of them. For instance, in the
Colombian case, bilateral dialogue on extradi-
tion did not begin with the Justice and Peace
Law but has a longstanding tradition in US–
Colombian relations. The Colombian govern-
ment, responding to national pressures,
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