Communists and Their Victims : : The Quest for Justice in the Czech Republic / / Roman David.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2018 English
• VerfasserIn: David, Roman,
• Place / Publishing House: Philadelphia : : University of Pennsylvania Press, , [2018]; ©2018
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Series: Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (280 p.) :; 26 illus.

In Communists and Their Victims, Roman David identifies and examines four classes of justice measures—retributive, reparatory, revelatory, and reconciliatory—to discover which, if any, rectified the legacy of human rights abuses committed during the communist era in the Czech Republic. Conducting interviews, focus groups, and nationwide surveys between 1999 and 2015, David looks at the impact of financial compensation and truth-sharing on victims' healing and examines the role of retribution in the behavior and attitudes of communists and their families. Emphasizing the narratives of former political prisoners, secret collaborators, and former Communist Party members, David tests the potential of justice measures to contribute to a shared sense of justice and their ability to overcome the class structure and ideological divides of a formerly communist regime.Complementing his original research with analysis of legal judgments, governmental reports, and historical records, David finds that some justice measures were effective in overcoming material and ideological divides while others obstructed victims' healing and inhibited the transformation of communists. Identifying "justice without reconciliation" as the primary factor hampering the process of overcoming the past in the Czech Republic, Communists and Their Victims promotes a transformative theory of justice that demonstrates that justice measures, in order to be successful, require a degree of reconciliation.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- List of Acronyms -- Introduction -- PART I Historical and Sociolegal Context -- Chapter 1. The Communist Regime in Czechoslovakia: Were People Coerced? -- Chapter 2. Justice After Transition: Retributive, Revelatory, Reparatory, and Reconciliatory Measures -- PART I I Justice at the Poles of Society -- Chapter 3. Did Justice Measures Heal Victims? Compensation, Truth, and Reconciliation in the Lives of Political Prisoners -- Chapter 4. Did Justice Measures Transform Communists? Personal and Intergenerational Transformation -- PART I I I Justice in a Polarized Society -- Chapter 5. Could Justice Measures Transform the Divided Society? Experimental Evidence About Justice and Reconciliation -- Chapter 6. Did Justice Measures Transform the Divided Society? Class and Ideological Divides -- Conclusion: From Observations to the Transformative Theory of Justice -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Acknowledgments