Book review: Victims of International Crimes: An Interdisciplinary Discourse
| Author | Felix Mukwiza Ndahinda |
| DOI | 10.1177/0269758014557408 |
| Published date | 01 January 2015 |
| Date | 01 January 2015 |
restorative justice approaches and consequently on tensions between punishment and reparations,
forgiveness and reconciliation. Basing their arguments on specific and different case studies,
authors reach different conclusions. For instance, one author (Zinsstag, pp. 189–213) claims that
restorative justice approaches may not be suitable to deal with serious crimes such as sexual vio-
lence, and advocates for the maintenance of a punitive approach which could be complemented
with restorative justice-oriented initiatives. On the other hand, others (Weissman, pp. 275–287;
Goldscheid, pp. 311–331) affirm that there is a tendency, at the international and domestic levels,
to rely too heavily on retributive justice and the criminal justice system instead of adopting more
inclusive approaches. Such a tendency is understood as neglecting women’s experiences in a com-
prehensive manner and excluding from its mandate social and cultural reforms which could lead to
real and lasting change.
By providing diverging perspectives, from theoretical to practical and legal to political and
sociological, this collection allows readers to truly understand one of the most basic characteristics
of transitional justice: it is a paradigm that combines law with politics. As such, the case studies
show examples of the potential hurdles and some of the ingredients necessary to achieving gender
justice such as community engagement and fully fledged legal, political and cultural reforms. Most
importantly, taken as a whole, they give credence to the idea that one size does not fit all when it
comes to gender and transitional justice.
Recent feminist engagement with transitional justice therefore appears to have a long future.
Indeed, additional research and discussions are required in order to respond to the challenge of
reflecting on how feminist theory can assist in transforming the understanding of core transitional
justice concepts, including refining that of transition. Future reflections are paramount because, as
argued by the authors, transitions provide a critical opportunity to ensure change as societal rela-
tions are being renegotiated. This book offers valuable and thought-provoking insights and ave-
nues into how feminist perspectives can contribute to research on gender and transitional justice.
Thorsten Bonacker and Christoph Safferling (eds)
Victims of International Crimes:An Interdisciplinary Discourse
The Hague/Berlin Heidelberg: T.M.C. Asser Press/Springer, 2013, ISBN: 978-90-6704-911-5 (print);
978-90-6704-912-2 (online)
Reviewed by: Felix Mukwiza Ndahinda, INTERVICT, Tilburg University, the Netherlands
Victims of International Crimes: An Interdisciplinary Discourse is an edited volume that discur-
sively examines the dynamics and politics of recognition and non-recognition of victimhood
within domestic and international normative and institutional processes. The establishment of the
International Criminal Court in 1998 occurred within a context of increased global awareness on
the fate of victims of mass atrocities known in legal discourses as international crimes. Genocides,
crimes against humanity and war crimes are crimes whose legal definitions may be recent but
which have been committed in situations of conflicts and socio-political oppression throughout the
recorded history of humanity. In most cases, the perpetration of such atrocities has rarely been
accompanied by concrete global responses to bring accountability and provide justice for victims.
134 International Review of Victimology 21(1)
134
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