NCJ Number
222560
Date Published
2008
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the status of research on punitiveness in postwar societies and the findings of such research to date.
Abstract
The empirical findings of research on punitiveness among people who are living in the aftermath of war show that they hold punitive attitudes, as measured by their desire to see the prosecution and imprisonment of human rights violators. Future research should focus on how punitiveness is related to the passage of time after a war ends and the existence and nature of postwar peace-building between the warring parties. One of the sources of these empirical findings is the International Red Cross's 1999 study of postwar punitive attitudes among people living in 13 war-torn countries. Another source is a research project being conducted by the Max-Planck-Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, which is examining the attitudes of war victims in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. Another study cited focused on public opinion among South Africans about that country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which guided South Africa's policy toward those who designed and executed apartheid in that country. In reviewing the status of research on punitiveness among people in postwar societies, the authors found few studies. They believe this is due to the lack of interest in this particular topic, which stems mainly from the problems of field access in war-torn societies, as well as from mainstream criminology's indifference toward war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. 9 tables, 1 figure, and 46 references