Countering Coups in Africa: The Role of International Organizations

Africa Talks Seminars 2024

Speaker: Dr Mwita Chacha, CEDAR, POLSIS, University of Birmingham

In post-war Sierra Leone, a range of transitional justice mechanisms were implemented to address experiences of conflict, violence, and human rights violations. Much of the research on local transitional justice processes has focused on the work of formal institutions, failing to acknowledge how individual and communal dynamics shape and are shaped by them. During her talk, Dr Martin will discuss how Sierra Leoneans navigated their own personal circumstances during the conflict and post-conflict period. Developing the idea of recognised and unrecognised transitional justice processes, the book explores Fambul Tok as an example of a recognised local transitional justice program and shows how ordinary Sierra Leoneans appropriated Fambul Tok's agenda for their own purposes, highlighting the agencies of a diverse range of actors in shaping transitional justice processes. Justice, as Martin ultimately argues, is not something that happens to or for people, but is enacted by individuals and communities.

Zoom: Register in advance