Gready, Paul orcid.org/0000-0001-6353-7372 and Robins, Simon orcid.org/0000-0002-6445-2159 (2020) Transitional Justice and Theories of Change:towards evaluation as understanding. International Journal of Transitional Justice. 280–299. ISSN 1752-7724
Abstract
This article has two goals. First, to make explicit the theories of change currently operative within transitional justice and, second, to critically engage with both these theories, and dominant theories in international development. As such, it seeks to replace a focus on results, attribution, and linearity with a privileging of process, contribution and complexity. Developing theories of change for transitional justice is challenging, as it is characterised by diverse interventions, complex and contested contexts, and the need to balance principles and pragmatism. Normative, linear and mechanism-based claims remain dominant, while the evidence base for transitional justice is still weak. This article looks at insights from adjacent fields, some of the challenges facing the development of theories of change within transitional justice, and evidence from impact studies and evaluations. In a final section we propose an alternative, drawing on complexity theory and actor-oriented approaches, which suggest an important set of terms – systems, interaction, contingency, context, encounter, emergence, incrementalism – to inform what we term evaluation as understanding.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) (2020) |
Keywords: | Theories of change,transitional justice,evaluation,complexity theory,actor-oriented approaches |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Research Groups (York) > Centre for Applied Human Rights (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 30 Jun 2020 11:00 |
Last Modified: | 02 Apr 2025 23:19 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijaa008 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/ijtj/ijaa008 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:162497 |
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Description: Transitional Justice and Theories of Change: Towards evaluation as understanding
Licence: CC-BY 2.5