Retribution and Reparation in the Transition to Democracy

Jon Elster is Robert K. Merton Professor of Social Science in the Department of Political Science at Columbia University. He has also taught in Paris, Oslo, and Chicago. His publications include Ulysses and the Sirens, Sour Grapes, Making Sense of Marx, The Cement of Society, Solomonic Judgements, Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences, Local Justice, Political Psychology, Strong Feelings, Alchemies of the Mind, and Ulysses Unbound. His research interests include the theory of rational choice, the theory of distributive justice, and the history of social thought.

• 1. Introduction Jon Elster; Part I. General Issues: 2. Restitution: how far back should we go? Tyler Cowen; 3. Retribution Jon Elster; Part II. Germany and German-Occupied Countries after 1945: 4. Transitional justice in divided Germany after 1945 David Cohen; 5. Purges in France after the Liberation Henry Rousso; 6. Political justice in Austria and Hungary after World War II Istvan Deák; 7. Dealing with the past in Scandinavia Hans Fredrik Dahl; 8. Belgian and Dutch purges after World War II compared Luc Huyse; Part III. Latin America, Post-Communism, and South Africa: 9. Paranoids may be persecuted: post-totalitarian retroactive justice Aviezer Tucker; 10. Transitional justice in Argentina and Chile: a never ending story? Carlos H. Acuña; 11. Transitional justice in the German Democratic Republic and in Unified Germany Claus Offe and Ulrike Poppe; 12. Rough justice: rectification in post-authoritarian and post-totalitarian regimes Aviezer Tucker; 13. Accountability and the South African experience Alex Boraine; 14. Conclusion.

"How did, and how should, emerging democracies deal with members and supporters of fallen autocratic or occupation regimes? By fusing analytical approaches with historical perspectives, this fascinating and eminently readable volume addresses an enduring political question in a refreshing way, at once normative, theoretical, and empirical. A must-read." -Stathis N. Kalyvas, Yale University