Mere ritual?: Displacing the myth of sincerity in transitional rituals
Although a number of transitional justice processes involve ritual, such ritual dimensions are repeatedly dismissed as lacking efficacy with respect to the key objectives of transitional justice. Focusing on the case of political apologies, this article exposes the assumptions that underpin such dis...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2013
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| In: |
International journal of transitional justice
Year: 2013, Volume: 7, Issue: 2, Pages: 286-305 |
| Online Access: |
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| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Summary: | Although a number of transitional justice processes involve ritual, such ritual dimensions are repeatedly dismissed as lacking efficacy with respect to the key objectives of transitional justice. Focusing on the case of political apologies, this article exposes the assumptions that underpin such dismissals of ritual, in particular assumptions about the primacy of individual agency in the story of wrongdoing and repair and the failure to adequately distinguish between personal and political contexts. The article draws on theological and social anthropological understandings of ritual to argue that ritual’s efficacy becomes apparent once individual judgments and actions are recognized as constituted through social meanings, which is the level at which ritual operates. The article provides empirical support for a more robust understanding of ritual as socially transformative, while also reflecting on why existing rituals may not be achieving such potentially transformative effects. This analysis is particularly important in the context of transitional justice, where the overall objectives must include the transformation of broad social meanings or political cultures. |
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| ISSN: | 1752-7724 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/ijtj/ijt003 |