Beyond Conventional Transitional Justice

Reem Abou-El-Fadl has published a piece entitled ‘Beyond Conventional Transitional Justice: Egypt's 2011 Revolution and the Absence of Political Will,’ in the International Journal of Transitional Justice (Vol. 6, No. 2, 2012). She has also written a piece for the Oxford University Press blog, summarising her arguments in light of Egypt’s June presidential elections.

As the abstract states, ‘After Egypt's January 2011 revolution ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, a conversation began amongst a number of international and Egyptian human rights groups regarding the need to promote international transitional justice precedents within the Egyptian context and to raise public awareness of them. This article argues that, in many ways, the Egyptian revolution surpassed the bounds of reformist transitional justice agendas. It begins by identifying two specific limitations in their scope: regarding the accountability of external actors and regarding the guarantee of economic and social rights. The article then describes the more far-reaching conceptions for change that were communicated in the key demands and subsequent campaigns of the 2011 revolution. Finally, it argues that Egypt's transition itself has stalled, as the ruling military council lacks the political will to propel transitional justice, rendering such discussions premature. It recommends that international practitioners take their cues from Egyptian actors negotiating these challenges, rather than proceeding without sufficiently questioning the context.’

The article is featured on the journal website in full here. The OUP blog post can be read here, and has been reprinted by Politics in Spires here.

Dr. Reem Abou-El-Fadl is Jarvis Doctorow Junior Research Fellow in International Relations & Conflict Resolution in the Middle East