Movements Before Mechanisms: Community Grievances and Windows of Opportunity for Restorative Justice in a Transitional Justice Context
This research seeks to better understand different communities’ perspectives into their grievances stemming from cycles of violence across different historical periods in understudied ISIS conflict-affected areas in central Iraq and the ways in which restorative justice approaches may fit within such a transitional justice setting, drawing primarily on original qualitative data collected from 211 participants (178 community members and 33 key informants) across districts and geographic corridors in Salah al-Din, Kirkuk, and Diyala governorates. In detailing governorate case studies, analysis reveals five cross-cutting themes that further confirm the need for transitional justice interventions in Iraq to expand the time periods, types of violations, and victims and perpetrators they seek to engage with. The current data also presents openings for ways in which restorative justice can help facilitate transitional justice, with respect to both punitive and non-punitive remedies (specifically criminal accountability and reforms) and highlights a central tension between community member and key informant views on the impact citizens can have in making society more just, peaceful, and equitable.
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