Psychology and Self-Preservation: Behind the Effects of International Criminal Tribunals on Social and Political Groups

Abstract

Although scholars and practitioners alike insist that international criminal tribunals are focused on the individual defendants they try, these bodies have a profound impact on social and political groups. The origins and nature of such effects, however, have been largely absent from discussions of ICTs as mechanisms of post-conflict justice. Much of the literature advocating for and opposing these courts takes as given that such effects will or will not impact post-conflict justice, without considering what factors may mitigate or exacerbate group-level consequences of post-atrocity criminal proceedings. This paper seeks to address that gap by examining five different theoretical ways such effects take shape. These pathways are: social-psychological dynamics within groups whose members are prosecuted; lateral political pressure on groups whose members are prosecuted; direct impacts on states whose agents and policies are investigated; the use of ICT compliance as a necessary condition for international economic aid or institutional membership; and the potential developing trend toward the use by the Security Council of ICC referrals in conjunction with sanctions. This paper also examines briefly whether hybrid tribunals can have similar effects, and presents a list of factors that may enhance or subdue the impacts discussed.