The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa

Download or read book The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa written by Richard A. Wilson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2001-05-02 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up to deal with the human rights violations of apartheid. However, the TRC's restorative justice approach did not always serve the needs of communities at a local level. Based on extended anthropological fieldwork, this book illustrates the impact of the TRC in urban African communities in Johannesburg. It argues that the TRC had little effect on popular ideas of justice as retribution. This provocative study deepens our understanding of post-apartheid South Africa and the use of human rights discourse.