Peer-Reviewed Journal Details
Mandatory Fields
Visoka, G
2016
February
Journal of Human Rights Practice
Arrested Truth: Transitional Justice and the Politics of Remembrance in Kosovo
Published
18 ()
Optional Fields
8
62
80
This article examines the documentation of war crimes and human losses in Kosovo under the conditions of contested transitional justice and ethno-nationalist politics of remembrance. The article argues that the documentation of war crimes in Kosovo was utilized for retributive justice by the international community, for political revenge by former foes, and for power/identity consolidation by local protagonists. Attempting to overcome this suffocation of the past, the new politics of remembrance in Kosovo propagated by civil society groups aspires to liberate the past from ethno-nationalist tendencies by constructing a bottom-up and virtual memorialization. This is deemed to be inclusive for all sides in conflict; indestructible in its virtual and post-material constellation; and distinct with regard to volume and reliability. While civil society-based documentation has the potential to overcome the ethno-nationalist entanglements in Kosovo and to compensate for the inability of international transitional justice mechanisms to deliver justice and truth to victims, its impact on overcoming the past and improving ethnic relations in Kosovo remains questionable. Accordingly, the article illustrates the contextual interplay between material, relational, and virtual forms of remembrance in Kosovo.
OXFORD
1757-9619
10.1093/jhuman/huv017
Grant Details