My Neighbor, My Enemy Justice and Community in the Aftermath of Mass Atrocity [Paperback]

Explores the effects of war-crime trials and how societies rebuild after ethnic cleansing and genocide.How do societies torn apart by civil war and the attendant horrors of ethnic cleansing, genocide, mass rape and the destruction of the infrastructures of civil society begin to rebuild themselves with help from the international community? This book is unique in its social science perspective and draws on original research by people working within the societies involved rather than re-working existing data. It also includes a comparative analysis of efforts at reconciliation in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. It will be a valuable resource for academics and policy makers.How do societies torn apart by civil war and the attendant horrors of ethnic cleansing, genocide, mass rape and the destruction of the infrastructures of civil society begin to rebuild themselves with help from the international community? This book is unique in its social science perspective and draws on original research by people working within the societies involved rather than re-working existing data. It also includes a comparative analysis of efforts at reconciliation in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. It will be a valuable resource for academics and policy makers.Tackling the crucial issue of our day--the rebuilding of countries following ethnic cleansing and genocide, this book evaluates the role of trials and tribunals with regard to social reconstruction and reconciliation. The voices of the people of Rwanda and Yugoslavia are heard through the results of extensive surveys and recorded conversations. Their thoughts of past and future controversially conclude that international and local trials have little relevance to reconciliation. The contributors find that communities interpret justice far more broadly than defined by the international community and the relationship of trauma to a desire for trials is not clear-cut. An ecological model of social reconstruction is proposed, suggl“)