A Politics of Remembrance. Towards an (International Criminal) Justice of Reparation

Abstract

Philosophical categories such as remembrance, forgiveness, revenge and reparation are central to the debate concerning the plausibility of international criminal justice. This essay attempts to draw connections among three concepts: the ‘politics of the past’ in Portinaro, ‘transitional justice’ in Elster, and ‘reparation’ in Garapon, with the aim of clarifying what contributions may help break the poisonous cycle of revenge and comprehend what kind of justice could be imagined. The reflection highlights the needs to harmonise international criminal justice and restorative justice; to invest in the idea that international criminal justice cannot be reduced to mere jurisdiction; to re-discuss the relationship of justice with politics, recovering the political significance of such topics; to reopen a conversation with the anthropological field, which can shed light on how debt does not equate to sacrifice, as well as on the regenerative potential of trust.