Media and Transitional Justice: Toward a Systematic Approach

Abstract

This article addresses a major gap in the transitional justice literature by exploring the role of the media in transitional justice processes. We offer a framework for analyzing the information environment in which media intervention and transitional justice occurs. We suggest an approach that can offer a more nuanced understanding of information flows and the ways in which key actors use communication to compete for loyalty in the political marketplace. Several tools for conceptualizing the approaches toward media during transitional justice processes are offered, including the use of law, force, subsidy, and negotiation. Examples of how these tools have been used both effectively and ineffectively by international actors in the former Yugoslavia illuminate our arguments.