Reconsidering Transitional Justice

Abstract

Abstract The transitional justice literature has, for decades, sought to understand and advocate for mechanisms through which a society may transition from a period of autocracy and mass atrocity into one of democracy, peace and stability. However, this field has left certain geographic regions under-examined — including, for example, events taking place in 20th-century China. Seeking to augment the literature’s consideration of transitional justice, this article employs the case study method to examine two pivotal events in China’s recent history: the 1949 Communist Revolution and the Gang of Four Trials in 1979. It is argued that incorporating these examples into the literature could supplement our understanding of transitional justice and that, by broadening the lens on this concept, events that have long existed on the margins could be internalized to enrich the field’s discussion. In order to accomplish this, the article puts forward a new framework through which transitional justice examples may be analysed — employing a graphical aid to visually designate both the type of justice sought and the degree of transition achieved.