Negative Emotions and Transitional Justice / / Mihaela Mihai.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Columbia University Press Complete eBook-Package 2016
• VerfasserIn: Mihai, Mihaela,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : Columbia University Press, , [2016]; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (240 p.)

Vehement resentment and indignation are pervasive in societies emerging from dictatorship or civil conflict. How can institutions channel these emotions without undermining the prospects for democracy? Emphasizing the need to recognize and constructively engage negative public emotions, Mihaela Mihai contributes theoretically and practically to the growing field of transitional justice. Drawing on an extensive philosophical literature and case studies of democratic transitions in South Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe, her book rescues negative emotions from their bad reputation and highlights the obstacles and the opportunities such emotions create for democracy. By valorizing negative emotions, either through the judicial review of transitional justice bills or the criminal trials of victimizers, institutions realize the value of respect and concern for all while contributing to a culture that is hospitable to democracy.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: The Problem -- 1. Transitional Justice: Optional or Imperative? -- 2. Theorizing Resentment and Indignation -- 3. Enabling Emotional Responsibility I: Judicial Review of Transitional Justice Legislation -- 4. Enabling Emotional Responsibility II: Criminal Trials in Democratic Transitions -- Conclusions -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index