On historical justice in post-socialist contexts. Reparatory justice and social trust in the Romanian obști
ABSTRACT The fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe at the end of the twentieth century was not without its fair share of challenges. One of these was the dilemma of whether it was possible to repair the injustices committed by these oppressive regimes and what shape a reparatory scheme ought to take in case of a positive answer to this question. In this article, we adopt a position according to which achieving reparatory justice was necessary in the context of the political transitions of the 1990s in order to restore the moral fabric of societies affected by egregious historical injustices. We focus on the specific case of the former communal villages in Romania. We employ the Institutional Analysis and Development framework in order to analyze the development of the obști, but we go further than preceding studies in also assessing the normative implications of the restitutive measures adopted in the 1990s. We argue that the obști case study shows a failure to instantiate even a minimalist conception of historical justice. We end the article by presenting a way forward, one that is based on social capital as opening the possibility of a more meaningful return to self-governance.
- Research Article
1
- 10.7420/ak1999-2000a
- Mar 3, 2000
- Archives of Criminology
Mediation as a method of conflict resolution also applicable to conflict resulting from an offences is the alternative of legal solution of disputes, a technique shared by various models that promote the use in practice of consensus. This novel plocedure fot conflict resolution (which is however derived from the traditions of the oldest societies) - a consensual one, based on agreement between parties - has been developing most dynamically over the recent decades, and pervaded all branches of the law in most legal systems (H. Jung, T. Marshall). In the specific context of criminal justice, mediation does not necessarily aim at conflict resolution. For this reason, it is defined as a process, where parties to proceedings are offered the possibility to actively participate in resolving issues that result from the offence, and are assisted in so doing by an impartial third person or mediator. Mediation may take a variety of forms (direct or indirect); it may be conducted by professional or lay mediators, under auspices of the law enforcement agencies or by an independent social organization, and the parties to it may include not only the victim and the offender but also their relatives and other supporters as well as representatives of the criminal justice system. As has already been mentioned, the origins of mediation between the offender and his victim date back to the oldest past when all issues related to harm involved in acts that are today treated as offences were adjusted in the course of negotiations by those directly concerned assisted by their families and clans. The offences was seen as a conflict between the victim and the perpetrator, with due consideration to the social context. Once the function of reacting to crime was taken over by the state, the reactions initially resembled the modern rules of civil law. Later on, when crime was interpreted as violation of the order established by the ruler, penal sanctions aimed not only at compensating the victim but also at supporting the authority of the state. Although Nils Christie's picture of the state stealing the conflict is a convincing illustration of this situation, the fact should be borne in mind that the state's taking over of the function of punishing was an immense cultural achievement of its time, especially for those members of the conmunity who were too weak to vindicate their claims (B.-D. Meier). Solutions that provide for specific forms of consensus can also be found in modern legal systems. In the area of mediation between the victim and offender, the practice outpaced theory. It was inspired, among other things, by examples of "community justice'' of non-Western cultures; by the movement on behalf of victims, the progress of victimology, the diversion conception, and abolitionism; by the theory of social peace and conflict resolution and by the conception of reparatory justice. This latter conception deals with most problems posed by the other ones. It is, however, difficult to define, and its essence is difficult to explain, especially if we try to embrace threads important for all the trends on which it bases. Thus in the end, a simpler definition suggested by T. Marshall won general acceptance: "reparatory justice is an approach to crime, oriented on solving the problem, which engages perionally all parties involved in it as well as the community, in active relation to the public sector institutions. It is not a specific activity but a set of ruled that may set the direction of the bulk of actions of all institutions or groups related to crime. Reparatory justice is a process in which all parties involved in a specific offence meet to reach a joint solution of the issue of effects of crime and conclusions for the future". This definition was subsequently modified somewhat by other authors. In particular, it was accepted by an international body - the International Research Network on Reparatory Juvenile Justice in its Leuven Declaration of May 1997 concerning advisability of promoting the reparatory approach to juvenile delinquency. Reparatory justice is discussed as a specific trend, approach, philosophy or even idea; according to most authors, however, it has not yet developed into a consistent theory, although incessant efforts are made towards this aim. The term "reparatory justice'' is attributed to R. Barnett; H. Zehr's contribution is the first general model of that justice as an "alternative paradigm of justice" whose main principles are opposed to those of the traditional retributive justice. Also J. Braithwaite's idea of "reintegrating confusion'' was of importance for the development of the reparatory justice conception. It is associated e.g. with Hirschi's theory of control, Matza's neutralization theory, Luhmann's systemic theory, and also with the traditional penal law theories under which evil has to be compensated by punishment, but compensation involving suffering prohibits a better arrangement of social relartions. Instead, reparatory justice balances the harm involved in crime through action aimed at compensation and “doing good” (Ch. Pelikan, B.D. Meier). M. Wright stresses that this conception largely tallies with the common-sense ideas as to how society should react to crime, supported by appropriate actions, analysis, and studies. Mediation and other restorative reactions are sometimes shown as responses that function instead, parallel or within the traditional justice system. Much speaks, however, for integration of reparatory justice with the criminal justice system. The approach that isolates mediation altogether from criminal justice pays insufficient attention to the danger of inequality of the parties to mediation in the area of efficient execution of their conflicting interests. Thus public interest requires that the course and results of mediation proceedings be supervised. The manner in which reparatory justice may replace repressive one depends first and foremost on the seriousness of crime. It is not in all cases that a purely reparatory reaction should be recommended as sufficient. This is among the frequent arguments of critics of reparatory justice (although even its supporters accept the existence of limits to its application). Skeptics also stress that reparatory justice violates a number of generally accepted rules of procedure, especially that of equality before the law (which, however, could be disputed) and the offender’s procedural rights due to him in criminal proceedings (which is in fact a weakness of reparatory justice, but collisions might be solved by appropriate rules and standards of the reparatory process or e.g. by judicial review of negotiated solutions). The conception of reparatory justice is often explicated through opposition of the basic models of reaction to crime (although faulty in some respects, this method well illustrates the most fundamental features). Reparatory justice is sometimes called the "third path'', an alternative to the (neo-) retributive penal law and the rehabilitation model which proves ineffective, and a fully mature self-standing model (L. Walgrave, I. Aertsen). M. Wright stressed two spccial ideas that distinguish reparatory justice from the traditional criminal justice system. The first of them is that the process itself constitutes an essential element of the reaction, that it is constructive and may even have a therapeutic importance. The other idea is compensation interpreted in a much broader sense - from symbolic actions such as work to those reducing the risk of the offender relapsing into crime. The justification and legitimization of mediation in criminal cases bases not only on new theorietical conceptions. Such justification can also be found in the assumptions of the traditional justice system. This is what B.D. Meier did assuming as his point of departure the penal law system's public function, including in particular that of restoring public order that has been violated through crime, and also that of preventing repeated violations. The traditional systems have always provided for two or three different models of reaction to crime. Prevalent is punishment imposed on the person who has been found guilty. The second model involves imposition of special measures irrespective of the offender's liability (security and preventive measures). The third model, of crucial importance for legitimization of mediation in the criminal justice system, consists in renouncing formal proceedings, e.g. in view of slight social harmfulness of the act, the fact that no public interest is involved in the imposition of penalty, or reasons of general and special prevention. According to T. Marshall, justifications of reparatory justice (fulfilled i.a. through mediation) should be sought in the community nature of the offence and its effects. Explaining the theoretical foundations of mediation between the victim and the offender is a complex task because of the multitude of its sources as well as theories and conceptions quoted, and particularly because of the lack of agreement as to the essence of the usually quoted conception of reparatory justice and as to its treatment as "competitive'' with fespect to traditional justice or (for which interpretation I would like to declare) as that system's highly profitable logical supplementation, improvement and expansion. Also in Poland, the practice of actions involving mediation have outpaced the theory: for several years now, there has been quite a rapid growth in its application in practice. In both spheres, there are many problems and challenges worth taking up. At the same time, expanding the theory is of importance for the practice. Explanation of the ideas, aims and foundations of mediation and of its position with respect to traditional justice is paramount for the institution's reasonable development, evaluation and shaping towards its meeting the expectations.
- Research Article
- 10.35225/kngos.2023.18.3.75
- Dec 31, 2023
- The Korean Association of NGO Studies (KANGOS)
Governance has been highlighted as an alternative mechanism to the traditional hierarchical solution method to solve problems in modern society. It has been attracting attention in various fields, by adding a descriptive word “collaborative,” despite the fact that “collaboration” is a key element in the meaning of governance. This raises the need for governance that complements the limitations of the “collaborative governance” led by the administrative authorities. In this study, we aimed to explore the necessity and possibility of “citizen-led collaborative governance” centered on citizen initiative to replace the administration-led collaborative governance. As an example of citizen-driven collaborative governance, we utilized Ostrom's Institutional Analysis and Development Framework to identify factors of citizen initiative in the creation of the Banghakcheon Culture and Arts Street in Dobong-gu, Seoul. This is a case where collaborative governance was established and operational because there was a clear common purpose to solve the inconvenience of the residents due to the existence of the densely concentrated harmful businesses for decades and the position of the city government, which was promoting a regional development strategy centered around culture. Through collaborative governance, all 31 harmful businesses were voluntarily closed, 17 of the vacant spaces were transformed into workshops and public spaces, and the surrounding streets were successfully regenerated with cafes and bookstores. As a result of the analysis through the institutional analysis framework, we concluded that the factors that enabled the citizen-led operation were the capacity of civil society accumulated over the years, the consensus of public-private partnership spread through participatory projects such as village communities in the administration, and the institutional devices and promotion systems such as ordinances that embodied citizen initiative.
- Research Article
- 10.33788/sr.18.1.1
- Jun 30, 2020
- Sociologie Romaneasca
The aim of this paper is to present an Institutional overview of the Romanian communal village form of property known as Obste and of the difference between “the old” and “the new” Obște. The Obste is the entity which manages the commons held by the villagers in a communal form of property. Usually, the commons managed by the Obste consist of forests, pastures and common infrastructure (markets, schools, ballrooms or even the public lighting system in some cases). The type of commons over which the Obste has a major impact is the forest, because the incentives to exploit it in order to increase the total revenue are much more pressing. The analysis will be based on the institutional analysis and development framework. The analysis will be cross-temporal in the sense that all the communal villages will be analyzed over three time periods: the old Obste (the period until 1948) –, the communist period (1948-1989, when all the communal properties were transferred to state’s property) and the new Obste (1990 – present; a significant moment in this third period was the enforcement of a new law in 2000, which opened the opportunity to re-establish the communal village’s Obste). The focus of the paper will be on the effects of the monitoring and sanctioning instruments in the three periods mentioned above and on how their changes affected the CPRs institutions' robustness levels.
- Research Article
7
- 10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106691
- Apr 20, 2023
- Land Use Policy
Customary land institutions (CLIs) are social institutions that define local land governance in communities. Strengthening community rights continues to be an essential land policy goal, and several studies have focused on ways to improve local land governance through CLIs. Relatively limited attention, however, has been paid to understanding these institutions in themselves. The present study addresses this gap and develops an analytical framework built on the well-known institutional analysis and development framework to support the understanding of CLIs in the context of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The framework was developed through a hermeneutic review of literature on CLIs in SSA. Accordingly, we mapped and classified the literature based on the concepts in the institutional analysis and development framework. The developed framework facilitates a detailed analysis of the contextual factors and customary land practices of CLIs, enabling a determination of their adequate and inadequate aspects. The framework was applied to understand the CLI in Ile-Ife through content analysis of primary and secondary data on the CLI. The case study application suggests that the framework can enable the understanding of CLI and the identification of the potentials and weaknesses within the institution. Notwithstanding, further exploration of the proposed framework should be carried out in other SSA contexts to validate its functionality.
- Research Article
8
- 10.3390/w10091252
- Sep 14, 2018
- Water
Understanding the factors affecting irrigation management performance is crucial for sustainable resource use, especially with the decentralized management mode of irrigation systems being implemented in rural China. This paper contributes to the research field by incorporating different categories of social trust and perceived organization support (POS) into the analysis of irrigation management performance, by linking multiple elements that are based on the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework. We employed principal component analysis (PCA) and ordered probit regression to analyze a database covering 785 households in the upstream of the Yellow River basin. The results suggested that social trust and POS positively affected the irrigation management performance, and social trust strengthened the positive effect of POS on the performance. Furthermore, the results indicated that personal trust and institutional trust, as well as perceived emotional support and physical support, positively affected the performance. In addition, we also found that household characteristics, household cognition, group characteristics, physical conditions, and rules-in-use also had significant impact on the performance. This paper can be used to inform the government that social trust and POS need to be considered in the common-pool resources (CPRs) management.
- Book Chapter
- 10.1007/978-981-19-3234-2_10
- Dec 1, 2022
This chapter explores the potential of Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework as an actionable theory in guiding safety capability development for Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). It does so through the dynamic formation of action situations that incentivize and nurture the desirable capabilities for collaborative practice. A worked example is presented to illustrate how the IAD framework works for this purpose. Following an in-depth review on IPD and safety literature, which defined a set of safety capabilities for IPD practice, the system designer set up initial IPD-oriented game rules which incentivized actors’ experiences that nurture such capabilities. The reflective analysis results highlight three key perspectives in mobilising the IAD framework for safety capabilities development: (1) an organic power division between top-down design and bottom-up development of institutions; (2) an inclusive project front-end that involves actors in problem-framing activities; and (3) capabilities development as a process of shifting logics. Practically, the results inform effective training and coaching of practitioners at the teambuilding stage of IPD projects to configure safety as an integral attribute of the project system. Theoretically, the research contributes to the development of institutional theories in the project management context.KeywordsIntegrated Project Delivery (IPD)Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) frameworkSafety capabilitiesInstitutional logic
- Research Article
29
- 10.3390/recycling5010004
- Mar 1, 2020
- Recycling
Recycling and recovery provide not only a sustainable option to decrease the volume of waste that needs final disposal, but also a blueprint to a circular economy. However, rates of recycling/recovery still remain very low on a global scale. While it is important to look for technology-based solutions to improve recycling/recovery activities, such solutions might not be necessarily affordable in many countries. A solution that involves the active participation of the population, on the other hand, has the potential to succeed in any country. The challenge is to attract and unite people to achieve such common goals. The theory of collective action and the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, that have been originally used in resource management, are two concepts that can be adapted to organize recycling/recovery initiatives. This manuscript discusses what recycling/recovery programs can learn from the theory of collective action and the IAD framework, through a qualitative comparative study of such initiatives from three different cities. They are; Curitiba in Brazil, Padang in Indonesia, and Akure in Nigeria. The cases show the potential benefits of both concepts, not only in formulating and implementing recycling/recovery programs but also in making corrective measures for continuous improvements. All cases also showed the importance of increasing awareness-raising to change public perception towards waste from being a nuisance to a valuable resource.
- Research Article
- 10.3390/land14040785
- Apr 6, 2025
- Land
Ensuring that “each household has a dwelling” is a fundamental principle in the reform of the rural housing system. Pilot areas for residential reform have achieved positive outcomes in rural collective housing. This paper, based on a field study conducted in District D of Province G, utilizes a case study methodology and the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework to explore the driving mechanisms behind the implementation of collective housing in the pilot villages of District D. It comprehensively analyzes the roles of various stakeholders throughout the entire process of “planning, construction, distribution, and management”, and evaluates the effectiveness of the initiative. The findings of the study indicate that collective housing construction can effectively alleviate land scarcity, meet the housing demands of rural residents, and enhance the overall rural environment. To ensure the successful implementation of collective housing projects, the government must assume a coordinating and guiding role, providing necessary financial and land support while streamlining the approval process. Village collectives should actively manage residential land and respect the preferences of farming households. Furthermore, pricing, allocation, and management strategies should be tailored to local conditions to ensure fairness and safeguard farmers’ rights and interests. Policies should remain adaptable, taking into account regional differences in geography, society, and culture, and selectively incorporating collective housing models to achieve the goal of “each household having a dwelling.”
- Research Article
- 10.1111/csp2.70206
- Dec 10, 2025
- Conservation Science and Practice
This article reviews and assesses the factors that influence inclusion in communal resource management decisions—who participates and how. Community conservation approaches that recognize the decision‐making autonomy of local and Indigenous communities are grounded in theory and evidence that including those who depend on the resource in management decisions often improves conservation outcomes. Decisions made by communities, however, do not necessarily reflect all members’ interests. Previous research suggests that within communities, marginalized groups frequently face persistent barriers. Yet, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how such barriers operate and how to overcome them. To address this gap, we analyze results from a systematic review of 60 empirical studies (2010–2024) on community‐based governance of forests, water, fisheries, and climate adaptation. Using the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework as a diagnostic tool, we identify and categorize participation barriers and assess how interventions—such as gender quotas, training, and affinity groups—seek to address them. We find that while many interventions target individual capacities and socio‐cultural beliefs, few target the formal rule structures that shape decision‐making processes. Our IAD analysis indicates how rule governing membership, agenda‐setting, information access, and aggregation provide critical but underutilized leverage points for fostering inclusion in communal resource management decisions.
- Research Article
2
- 10.2166/wp.2023.215
- Jun 21, 2023
- Water Policy
Brazilian's framework of water and sanitation services (WSS) is complex, with several actors from different legal natures and varied rules. The new Brazilian sanitation law aims to achieve universal access to WSS and effective provision of services, encouraging more efficiency by promoting competitiveness. However, the regulatory governance of the sector poses a challenge to achieve these objectives. This article addresses identifying and analyzing the WSS structures based on the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework, which provides a multidimensional conceptual map that combines levels of macro and micro situations. Databases from the National Sanitation Information System (SNIS) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) were cross-referenced to evaluate the structures that exist in the provision of WSS, focusing on municipalities located in the metropolitan regions and urban agglomerations of Brazil. It is possible to conclude that the IAD Framework helps to clarify the actors, its functions, responsibilities, and the interactions between them, as well as the exogenous factors and how they influence the action arena, reaching recommendations, supported by a Delphi approach, such as to improve industry regulation in terms of governance and regulatory governance.
- Conference Article
- 10.24963/ijcai.2023/786
- Aug 1, 2023
Ostrom's Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework represents a comprehensive theoretical effort to identify and outline the variables that determine the outcome in any social interaction. Taking inspiration from it, we define the Action Situation Language (ASL), a machine-readable logical language to express the components of a multiagent interaction, with a special focus on the rules adopted by the community. The ASL is complemented by a game engine that takes an interaction description as input and automatically grounds its semantics as an Extensive-Form Game (EFG), which can be readily analysed using standard game-theoretical solution concepts. Overall, our model allows a community of agents to perform what-if analysis on a set of rules being considered for adoption, by automatically connecting rule configurations to the outcomes they incentivize.
- Research Article
1301
- 10.1111/j.1541-0072.2010.00394.x
- Feb 1, 2011
- Policy Studies Journal
This article provides an overview of the structure and evolution of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework and a short introduction to its use by scholars to analyze a diversity of puzzles. It then addresses the relationship of IAD to a more complex framework for the analysis of social‐ecological systems and concludes with a short discussion of future challenges facing IAD scholars.
- Research Article
47
- 10.1002/eet.1769
- Sep 1, 2017
- Environmental Policy and Governance
Policy mix analysis has been applied in research on energy, climate, urban and transport policy, and more recently biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. However, policy mix analysis has thus far been employed at a high conceptual level, focusing on describing interactions between instrument types. Policy mix analysis rarely describes instrument ‘structure’ or functional characteristics in a way that would answer the question ‘what constitutes an instrument’? We describe how the rules‐in‐use taxonomy of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, developed for research on common pool resource management, can be used to characterize conservation policy instrument interactions. We demonstrate the approach on the well‐known payments for ecosystem services (PES) program in Costa Rica and cross‐compliance policies, arguing that PES is a policy mix rather than a single economic instrument. Our analysis shows how design features of PES described in the economics literature map to ‘rules‐in‐use’ in the IAD framework. The framework provides a terminology for defining what constitutes institutional context, comparing economic, regulatory and information instruments, and studying their interactions. The rules‐in‐use taxonomy of IAD is a ‘structural’ diagnostic approach, which needs to be combined with other tools that analyse the role and ‘agency’ of actors, as part of integrative environmental governance research. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
- Research Article
4
- 10.1061/jpcfev.cfeng-4352
- Apr 1, 2023
- Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Failures of drinking water systems in Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi, were similar, other than their contextual situations. Each episode spurred media accounts and policy actions, but these may not address long-term systemic issues. Application of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework can provide a repeatable approach to study such problems, and depending on its scope of application, can provide insights to patterns of interaction in critical action arenas where solutions must begin. The IAD framework evolved from work by policy scientists on a range of complex problems, and its use to analyze issues in Flint and Jackson explored its potential for addition to the tools of Integrated Water Resources Management. IAD can incorporate information from other methods and sources to enrich its knowledge base. For example, media attention highlights problems, and the case studies that follow can identify issues, action arenas, and players. Tools like systems analysis can be used to study the patterns of interaction in the action arenas and the feedback loops between them. Flint and Jackson require multiple solution approaches like these to address systemic issues. They should involve better utility management supported by political leadership and effective governance, as well as attention to equity issues involving human rights and responsibilities to pay for services. In shedding light on root causes of failures, IAD can help point the way to improving services despite formidable obstacles.
- Research Article
19
- 10.2139/ssrn.1615582
- May 26, 2010
- SSRN Electronic Journal
We have tried to develop a useful framework for analyzing a wide variety of questions. Their adoption of a modified form of our Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework for this important set of questions re-assures us that we met our goal. Charlotte Hess and I organized a conference and co-edited a book that examined some aspects of the knowledge commons using the IAD framework. We have learned that aspects of cultural environments can be thought of as 'cultural commons' because cultural products (e.g., new knowledge or software) are often available to many users who do not have to pay the producer in order to use those products. Many important questions related to the study of cultural commons await a careful institutional analysis.
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