Transitional Societies, Democratic Accountability and Policy Responses

457 Pages·2012·20.99 MB·English

Transitional Societies, Democratic Accountability and
Policy Responses: The Formulation of the Truth
Commission-Approach to a Transitional Justice Policy
(South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana)
by
Franklin Oduro, BA, Mphil.
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Post Doctoral
Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
Political Science
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
©2012
Franklin Oduro
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Abstract
This dissertation is a comparative study on policy formulation processes of the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) approach of three cases in Africa. At the centre of this
inquiry are the issues of the replication of the TRC-approach across borders, and the policy
formulation process of TRCs in the domestic politics of certain countries in Africa. Two main
research questions are asked: what explains the reproduction of the TRC-approach across
borders in Africa; and what factors and/or forces determine the policy establishment of the
TRC-approach, shape its mandate and condition its success or failure? Featuring the 'most
similar systems' in investigating the cases of South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, the study
demonstrates that in each instance the development of a policy on the TRC-approach has
involved an act of policy transfer that has been the mechanism for its reproduction across
Africa; and that the domestic policy formulation processes of the TRC-approach result from the
interplay of policy actors, both domestic and transnational, with the domestic structures on the
notion of restorative justice that underpins TRCs. The policy formulation process of the TRC-
approach in the domestic political environment is thus both constitutive and contextual.
The study clearly makes obvious that a social constructivist framework elucidates the
policy transfer and the associated domestic formulation processes of recent TRC-approaches to
transitional justice in Africa. This study thus departs from the prevailing theoretical paradigms
for explaining the policy formulation of the TRC-approach to transitional justice programs.
Rather, it suggests that the policy formulation processes of the TRC-approach in Africa are
characterized by a social constructivist account of policy transfers. Subsequently, the study
corroborates the usefulness of policy transfer models in Africa, and posits, to a large extent, that
African states are increasingly making good efforts to institutionalize public policy-making. By
extending the policy lens through which to interrogate TRC policy formulation process, this
study liberates the transitional justice discourse from the dominance of legal perspectives. It is
imperative that researchers look at the domain of policy analysis to examine, at least in Africa,
the recent discourse on transitional justice.
ii
Acknowledgement
I have benefited immeasurably throughout the writing of this dissertation. From the start to the
completion of this dissertation, I received gracious support from several people and
organizations. It is proper that I acknowledge them. First, I would like to recognize the members
of my supervisory committee in the persons of Professor Chris Brown, Professor Scott Bennett,
both at Carleton University, and Professor Rosemary Nagy of Nipissing University. I sincerely
thank them for their supervision, continuous counsel, and support throughout the writing of this
dissertation. To Professor Chris Brown, my principal supervisor, I wish to express my profound
appreciation for his patience and the generosity with his time to me. I also want to acknowledge
Professor Joanna Quinn of University of Western Ontario and Professor David Mendeloff of
Carleton University, both of whom, respectively, served as the external and internal examiners
for this dissertation. I remain grateful to all of them.
Second, I would like to acknowledge my former lecturers at the department of political science
at the University of Ghana, Legon, who have all contributed to my accomplishment of this level
of academia. To this end, I cannot for a moment forget the late Professor Edward Osei Kwadwo
Prempeh. As my academic adviser when I enrolled at Carleton University, I could not have
reached this stage without his guidance, particularly during the early years of studies in Canada.
Equally, Professor E. Gyimah-Boadi and Dr. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, both founding directors
of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), deserve my appreciation for
their encouragement and mentoring throughout my doctoral studies. My relationship with them
began in 1997 and I have benefitted from their counsel. I am also grateful to my friends, school
mates and colleagues resident in Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and the United States
who have been supportive in one way or another during this period of studies.
Third, I want to acknowledge the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
in South Africa, the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) in Nigeria, and the CDD-Ghana
for providing me with a base to conduct my field research during 2008 and 2009. To Nahla
Valji of CSVR, Dr. Sam Amadi of CPPR, and Professor Gyimah-Boadi of CDD-Ghana, I thank
you sincerely for hosting me. I am also grateful to Dr. Louis Bickford, then at the International
Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and Dr. Dorina Bekoe, formerly with the United States
Institute of Peace (USIP) for facilitating my research work in these institutions. To all my field
research interview respondents, I thank you for spending your time and sharing your views with
me. I will forever be grateful.
Fourth, my deep appreciation goes to my parents, John Osei-Kofi and Elizabeth Osei Adiyiah,
for providing me with love and supporting my education. To my father, in particular, who did
not live to read this dissertation, I will always be indebted to you. To all my siblings I am
thankful for your words of encouragement and prayers. I must, in particular mention my elder
brother, Paul Osei Williams (aka C.O) for his financial assistance throughout my education. As
for Millicent, you endured and you understood. And for that, I am thankful to you.
Finally, for everything and for the strength to complete this dissertation, I give thanks and
acknowledgment to the Almighty God.
iii
This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research
Center, Ottawa, Canada Information on the Centre is available on the web at www.idrc.ca. To
the Center, I acknowledge the generous financial support.
In the end, I am solely responsible for any shortcomings associated with this dissertation.
iv
Acronyms
AFRC Amied Forces Revolutionary Council
AMM Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission
ANC African National Congress
ATJRN African Transitional Justice Research Network
AU African Union
AZAPO Azania Peoples Organization
BC Black Consciousness
CDD Center for Democracy and Development
CDD-Ghana - Ghana Center for Democratic Development
CDHR Committee for the Defence of Human Rights
CLO Civil Liberty Organization
CLPA Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
CODESA Convention for a Democratic South Africa
CPMRD Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution Department
CPPR Center for Public Policy Research
CSO Civil Society Organization
CSVR Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
DDR Demilitarization, Demobilization and Reintegration
FF Freedom Front
HRVC Human Rights Violation Committee
HRVIC Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission
ICC International Criminal Court
ICTR - International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
ICTJ - International Center for Transitional Justice
ICTY International Criminal Court of Yugoslavia
IFI International Financial Institution
IFP Inkatha Freedom Party
UR Institute of Justice and Reconciliation
IMF International Monetary Fund
IDASA Institute of Democracy for South Africa
INGO International Non-Governmental Organization
ISA International Studies Association
KAIPTC Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre
KNC Ken Nnamani Center for Leadership and Development
KTJRC Kenyan Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission
LEDAP Legal Defence and Assistance Project
LRC Legal Resource Consortium
LRC Legal Resource Center
MNC Multi-national Corporation
NCC National Commission on Culture
NEC National Executive Committee
NDC National Democratic Congress
NDI National Democratic Institute
NEPAD New Partnership for African Development
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
vi
NP - National Party
NPM - New Public Management (NPM)
NPP - New Patriotic Party
NRC - National Reconciliation Commission
OECD - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
OHCHR - Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
OSI - Open Society International
OSIWA - Open Society for West Africa
OSJI - Open Society Justice Initiative
PAC - Pan Africanist Congress
PDP - Peoples Democratic Party
PNDC - Provisional National Defence Council
PRS - Poverty Reduction Strategy
RRC - Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee
SABC - South African Broadcasting Corporation
SACC - South African Council of Churches
SADF - South African Defence Force
SAP - Structural Adjustment Program
SATRC - South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
SPO - Special Prosecutor Office
SSC - State Secret Council
TJI - Transitional Justice Institute
TNC - Trans-national Corporation
vii
TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission
UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UGCC United Gold Coast Convention
UN United Nations
USA United States of America
USIP United States Institute of Peace
WANEP West African Network for Peacebuilding
viii
Table of Contents
Abstract ii
Acknowledgements Hi
Acronyms v
List of Figures and Tables xii
Chapter One: Introduction 1
1.0: Establishing the Context 1
1.1: Establishing the Research Problem 3
1.2: Research Questions and Preliminary Answers 8
1.3: Methodological Considerations 12
1.3.1: Selection of Case Studies 19
1.4: Outline of Chapters 23
Chapter Two: Setting the Research Agenda 28
2.0. Introduction 28
2.1: Understanding Transitional Justice 29
2.1.1: Debating Transitional Justice 40
2.1.2: Goals of Transitional Justice 49
2.1.3: Approaches to Transitional Justice 54
2.1.4: Understanding of Transitional Justice Policy Formulation Theory 60
2.2: Public Policy Science: The Formulation Process 68
2.2.1. Public Policy Formulation Process in Africa 76
2.3: Summary and Conclusion 83
Chapter Three: Theoretical Model for TRC Policy Formulation 85
3.0: Introduction 85
3.1: The Concept of Policy Transfer 87
3.1.1: Dolowitz and Marsh Policy Transfer Model 97
3.2: The Social Constructivist Framework 112
3.2.1: Ideas (Knowledge and Learning) 121
3.2.2: Agents and Agency (Carriers of Ideas/Knowledge) 124
3.2.3: Structure (Cultural and Political) 128
3.3: The Theoretical Model: Social Constructivist Account of Policy Transfers 134
3.4: Hypotheses for the Study 136
3.5: Summary and Conclusion 142
Chapter 4: The Policy Transfer of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)-Approach... 143
4.0: Introduction 143
4.1: The TRC-Approach: Concept, Features and Origins 146
4.1.1: The Notion of Restorative Justice and the TRC-Approach 149
4.1.2: The TRC Goals 151
ix