Doctoral Dissertation Research: Pricing Suffering in Compensation for Human Rights Violations

University Of Virginia Main Campus, Charlottesville VA

Investigators

Abstract

In the last 20 years, transitional justice measures have been adopted around the world to address the suffering of victims of human rights violations after civil conflict. Economic compensation is one within a range of options available under transitional justice to acknowledge the suffering of victims of massive violence. However, the implementation of compensation plans takes different forms at the national level. Across countries, we find that the compensation of suffering can involve different monetary values, justifications, and institutional practices, leaving open the question of how states arrive at specific monetary values for suffering caused by civil conflict? This dissertation project will answer this question by focusing on two contemporary examples of compensation schemes created to address suffering related to human rights violations. The research plan involves textual analysis of newspaper reports, official documents, and legal documents. In addition, CO-PI will conduct 30 semi-structured interviews with experts, state officials, and victim advocates. By considering how states monetarily value suffering, this project speaks to current worldwide debates on peace and post-conflict negotiations, and the corresponding discourses on victim reparation and reconciliation.