Plural justice: Indonesian norm entrepreneurs and models of justice

Abstract

ABSTRACTSettling past human rights abuses is an ongoing process in Indonesia. In addition to the existing human rights court system, the government has recently put forward new proposals for reconciliation and harmony. These proposals all build on earlier models of justice imported by Indonesian human rights activists in the short period following Suharto’s fall. In this article, I discuss the indispensable role played by Indonesian activists in promoting norms, models and repertoires of collective action related to transitional justice. The campaigns eventually led to successful legislation, although ‘decoupling’ between norms and practices has since been observed. While Indonesian activists used direct links with international experts and agencies, they also relied on indirect channels of diffusion such as reading books, which were as effective as direct channels. The diversity of channels through which ideas were disseminated further encouraged the plurality of transitional justice models, leading to contestation over desirable mechanisms between like-minded human rights groups. The major models that I discuss in this article are enforced disappearances and the Argentine model, an international criminal justice model, and a truth and reconciliation commission with amnesty, introduced by Indonesian human rights groups such as Kontras and Elsam.