Favoring Retribution?
Favoring Retribution?

A Study on the Factors Influencing the Choice of the Transitional Justice Approach in the Aftermath of the Genocide in Rwanda 1994–1996

Summary/Abstract: This article inquires why Rwanda applied retributive justice in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. Considering the devastation, the country found itself in as well as the prominence of restorative approaches in Africa, it seems astonishing that Rwanda enacted extensive prosecution as the main policy to deal with the genocide. In order to account for that phenomenon, various factors are examined with regards to their influence on the choice of a particular transitional justice approach in Rwanda. The theoretical foundation of the research is derived from the transitional justice framework and existing work on the possible correlation between factors present before, during and after a transition and type of transitional justice approach pursued. The paradigms of retributive and restorative justice are introduced as values of the dependent variable, which is type of transitional justice applied. After a discussion of the theoretical framework, the article proceeds to an in-depth analysis of the Rwandan case study. Here, the particular values that the independent variables nature of the previous regime, transition type, external actors and foreign policy considerations, and values and beliefs held by decision-makers take on are explored. The choice of a retributive approach is finally explained as a result of the combination of the discussed variables.

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