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Project

Transitional Justice in Zimbabwe: Tactical gambits of local civil society organisations in a fragile and conflict-affected society

This PhD proposal seeks to study the underexplored leadership role of civil society organisation (CSOs) in transitional justice contexts, particularly focusing on initiatives that are implemented beyond State-led processes. To this end, the research firstly aims at analysing the emergence and subsequent evolution of the transitional justice discourse through the lens of critical scholars and practitioners and at examining the different interpretations that scholars and practitioners have made of the terms ‘civil society organisations’ and ‘fragile and conflict-affected States’. This analysis will support the setting of the theoretical framework upon which the research will rely when scrutinising relevant legal initiatives conducted by Zimbabwean CSOs, which will form the case study. Each of these initiatives will be presented by way of providing an in-depth understanding of the context in Zimbabwe and the rationale that led to the planning and implementation of such initiatives to identify common patterns that may guide future endeavours. Lastly, the research intends to extract the key internal and external challenges that Zimbabwean CSOs endured when attempting to advance a given transitional justice pillar. The aspiration is to produce a logical and structured framework where the barriers towards the advancement of transitional justice goals and pillars are isolated and examined with the aim of providing local CSOs, scholars and practitioners with a practical guide of elements that motivate and encourage the development of new strategies in Zimbabwe and other transitional justice contexts.

Date:6 Oct 2021 →  Today
Keywords:Conflict, Zimbabwe, Justice, Truth, Reparations, Transitional Justice, Civil Society Organisations, Human rights, Victimhood
Disciplines:Human rights law, Legal theory, jurisprudence and legal interpretation
Project type:PhD project