Tools for Tragedy: Procedures for Assessing Historic Redress Claims

Abstract

Programs providing monetary redress for historical injustices are often heralded as praiseworthy acts of national accountability. However, critics tend to judge their implementation harshly. Those unfavorable judgments respond, at least in part, to trade‐offs between important values that are “hard‐wired” into the basic tools of assessment. Exposing those trade‐offs can help observers understand the compromises inherent in program design and, hopefully, support policy makers in creating more rational programs.Related ArticlesKahn‐Nisser, Sara. 2018. “Constructive Criticism: Shaming, Incentives, and Human Rights Reforms.” Politics & Policy 46 (1): 58‐83. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12240Ryan, Susannah. 2015. “White Gold and Troubled Waters in Southern Africa: Hydropolitical Policy's Effect on Peace in Lesotho and South Africa.” Politics & Policy 43 (2): 239‐255. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12114Woessner, Matthew, and April Kelly‐Woessner. 2006. “Slavery Reparations and Race Relations in America: Assessing how the Restitutions Debate Influences Public Support for Blacks, Civil Rights, and Affirmative Action.” Politics & Policy 34 (1): 134‐154. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2006.00007.x