Politics & Government
The Peace versus Justice Dilemma in Post-Conflict Truth Commissions
Quick fact
South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) granted amnesty to perpetrators of apartheid-era atrocities, but only if they fully disclosed their crimes. This explicit trade-off—justice for peace—was a groundbreaking model in the 1990s and remains the most famous example of the peace-versus-justice dilemma.
Why this is interesting
After a brutal civil war, can you bring peace by letting the killers walk free? That agonizing choice faced South Africa, and the commission they created shocked the world.