Politics and the past: on repairing historical injustices

Source: (2003) Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

This book, edited and introduced by John Torpey, consists of a collection of essays exploring the challenges of addressing and repairing past injustices. In this regard it contributes to the increased attention in recent years to discussions of reparations and other means of coming to terms with past instances of injustice and violence. Some of the essays stem from a symposium of the same name as the book “Politics and the Past: On Repairing Historical Injustices.” Held in late February 2000, the symposium was organized by Torpey under the auspices of the Institute for European Studies and the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The book itself is structured into three sections. The essays in Part I deal with historical and theoretical considerations on the spread of reparations politics. Those in Part II involve cases studies in reparations, compensation, new relationships, and reconciliation. The two essays in Part III offer reflections on judging the past. The authors consist of academicians from North America and Europe in such fields as sociology, law, history, cultural studies, political science, and anthropology. Many are leading commentators on reparations and the politics of reparations. Through the various essays, the book explores perspectives on the contemporary trend toward dealing with past wrongs, the dynamics of reparations politics, and the struggle for reparations in a variety of contexts around the world.