Transitional Justice - Post-Post-Soviet Space and Beyond

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved

Course Description Version:1.00

Study Course Accepted:14.03.2024 09:54:43

Study Course Information
Course Code:		SZF_062			LQF level:		Level 7
Credit Points:		2.00			ECTS:		3.00
Branch of Science:		Politics			Target Audience:		Political Science
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:		Arta Snipe
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:		Faculty of Social Sciences
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:		Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szfrsu[pnkts]lv
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		8	Lecture Length (academic hours)			2	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		16
Classes (count)		6	Class Length (academic hours)			2	Total Contact Hours of Classes		12
Total Contact Hours									28
Part-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		6	Lecture Length (academic hours)			2	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		12
Classes (count)		4	Class Length (academic hours)			2	Total Contact Hours of Classes		8
Total Contact Hours									20
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
General knowledge of global political processes in the 20th-21st centuries.
Objective:
To provide general knowledge of transitional justice: its objectives, mechanisms, their application; to develop the ability to analyse transitional justice processes using historical and current process experience.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.	Topic				Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	What Is Transitional Justice. The Emergence of Transitional Justice as a Scientific Field				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
2	Objectives, Means, Approach of Transitional Justice				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
3	Historical Phases of Transitional Justice				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
4	Overview of Regions and Processes. Levels and Institutions Involved				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
5	Persons Involved and Their Roles				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
6	Trials and Amnesties				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
7	Trials and Amnesties. Tribunals and Courts				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
8	Truth Commissions				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
9	Truth Commissions. Reparations and Compensation Programmes				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
10	Reparations and Compensation Programmes. Institutional Reforms. Purges. Other Mechanisms				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
11	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in Post-War Europe: In Germany and Its Occupied Territories. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion Classes				Classes		0.50	auditorium
12	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in Southern Europe in the 1970s. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.50	auditorium
13	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in South and Central America. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.50	auditorium
14	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in Africa. Comparative Analysis. Literature/Movie Discussion.				Classes		0.50	auditorium
15	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in the Balkans. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.50	auditorium
16	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in Central Europe. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.50	auditorium
17	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in Central Europe. Comparative Analysis. Literature/Movie Discussion.				Classes		0.50	auditorium
18	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in the Baltic States. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.50	auditorium
19	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in the Territory of the Former Soviet Union. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		1.00	auditorium
20	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in the Territory of the Former Soviet Union. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion. Conclusion of the Course				Classes		1.00	auditorium
Topic Layout (Part-Time)
No.	Topic				Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	What Is Transitional Justice. The Emergence of Transitional Justice as a Scientific Field				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
2	Objectives, Means, Approach of Transitional Justice				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
3	Historical Phases of Transitional Justice				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
4	Overview of Regions and Processes. Levels and Institutions Involved				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
5	Persons Involved and Their Roles				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
6	Trials and Amnesties				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
7	Trials and Amnesties. Tribunals and Courts				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
8	Truth Commissions				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
9	Truth Commissions. Reparations and Compensation Programmes				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
10	Reparations and Compensation Programmes. Institutional Reforms. Purges. Other Mechanisms				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
11	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in Post-War Europe: In Germany and Its Occupied Territories. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion Classes				Classes		0.25	auditorium
12	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in Southern Europe in the 1970s. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.25	auditorium
13	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in South and Central America. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.25	auditorium
14	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in Africa. Comparative Analysis. Literature/Movie Discussion.				Classes		0.25	auditorium
15	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in the Balkans. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.50	auditorium
16	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in Central Europe. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.50	auditorium
17	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in Central Europe. Comparative Analysis. Literature/Movie Discussion.				Classes		0.50	auditorium
18	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in the Baltic States. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.50	auditorium
19	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in the Territory of the Former Soviet Union. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion				Classes		0.50	auditorium
20	Student Presentations on Transitional Justice Processes in the Territory of the Former Soviet Union. Comparative Analysis. Literature Discussion. Conclusion of the Course				Classes		0.50	auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
Within the module, students will prepare for seminars, read recommended readings and prepare a presentation. The objective of the seminars is to develop students’ ability to justify their point of view; to stimulate activity; to test their knowledge of the topic and the material. The objective of the presentation is to develop the ability to identify the main problem of the topic; to identify and evaluate alternative arguments and points of view; to present one’s own point of view, explaining and arguing why this point of view is more acceptable and superior to any other. The report must compare all possible alternatives, considering all their weaknesses and strengths. Another objective is to develop the skills to independently research situations and problems, evaluate them and develop solutions.
Assessment Criteria:
Attendance un activity during lectures – 20% Activity and preparedness during classes – 30% Presentation – 25% Final examination – 25%
Final Examination (Full-Time):		Exam (Written)
Final Examination (Part-Time):		Exam (Written)
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:		Using the in-depth knowledge of transitional justice and its specifics in the post-post-Soviet space, students will compare different mechanisms of transitional justice, analyse the rationale of selecting them and outcomes. Based on a literature analysis of historical and current experiences of transitional processes, students will describe transitional justice processes and their impact on current legal dilemmas, for example, in matters of shared property.
Skills:		Students will choose scientific literature that corresponds to the topic of their independent work. Students will critically evaluate ideas expressed in the scientific literature and discuss the interpretation of these ideas in peer presentations. When preparing their independent work, students will compare and contrast the transitional justice mechanisms chosen by different countries.
Competencies:		By analysing interdisciplinary literature and developing independent work, students will integrate insights and methods from different disciplines (political and legal science, history), strengthening interdisciplinary research competences. By contrasting the experiences of different countries and the models chosen, students will demonstrate their understanding of methods of comparative politics in practice.
Bibliography
No.	Reference
Required Reading
1	Visa literatūra ir angļu valodā un piemērota gan latviešu, gan angļu plūsmas studentiem
2	Horne, et al. Transitional Justice and the Former Soviet Union: Reviewing the Past, Looking toward the Future / Edited by Cynthia M. Horne, Lavinia Stan. 2018.
3	Lavinia Stan. Transitional Justice in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: Reckoning with the Communist Past / Edited by Lavinia Stan. Routledge, 2009.
4	Istvan Pogany. Righting Wrongs in Eastern Europe / Istvan Pogany. Manchester University Press, 1997.
5	Jon Elster. Closing the Books: Transitional Justice in Historical Perspective. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
6	Other readings are given under each lecture topic. Most materials are available online (RSU or National Library of Latvia access, Google books, or free online access).
Additional Reading
1	Readings on case studies and required reading for seminars are given under each seminar topic (RSU or National Library of Latvia access).
Other Information Sources
1	International Center for Transitional Justice webpage.
2	Transitional Justice Research Collaborative website.
3	The UN High Commissioner of Refugees homepage: Country reports.
4	International Military Tribunal At Nuremberg.
5	International Criminal Court.
6	United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
7	International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
8	The International Journal of Transitional Justice.
9	Global Policy Forum. International Criminal Tribunals and Special Courts.