Books Edited Volumes Journal Articles Book Chapters Policy Papers Op-Eds and Media Appearances Encyclopedia Entries Book Reviews
Books
Military Courts, Civil-Military Relations, and the Legal Battle for Democracy: The Politics of Military Justice (New York, NY: Routledge, 2021), w. Brett J. Kyle
Where military courts retain too much power and overstep their bounds, they represent a direct challenge to obtaining proper civil-military relations, interfere with the democratic operation of judicial systems and weaken the rule of law, and prevent new democracies from being able to guarantee respect for human rights. The interaction between military and civilian courts, the political power that legal prerogatives can provide to the armed forces, and the difficult process civilian politicians face in reforming military courts remain glaringly under-examined. This book fills an important gap in existing scholarship by providing a theoretically rich, global examination of the operation and reform of military courts in democracies. Drawing on a newly-created global dataset, it examines trends across states and over time. Combined with deeper qualitative case studies of Colombia, Portugal, Indonesia, Fiji, Brazil, Pakistan, and the United States, the book presents clear and well-justified findings that will be of interest to scholars and policymakers working in a variety of fields.
Fighting Over Peace: Spoilers, Peace Agreements and the Strategic Use of Violence (London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, Rethinking Political Violence Series, 2016)
Negotiating an end to a civil war is extremely difficult, and many signed peace agreements subsequently unravel, ushering in renewed conflict. Policymakers and scholars alike have identified spoilers—violent actors who often rise up and attempt to challenge or derail the peace process—as one of the greatest threats to peace. Using a mixed-method approach combining quantitative and qualitative analyses of a newly created, global dataset of spoiling, I demonstrate that this type of violence occurs in predictable circumstances and only represents a threat to peace under specific conditions. The book also shows that spoiling often serves to bring agreement flaws and implementation failures to light and in turn forces actors to recommit to an accord, thereby strengthening peace in the long term.
Transitional Justice in Balance: Comparing Processes, Weighing Efficacy (Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace, 2010), w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne
Using our originally created Transitional Justice Data Base, we explore the adoption of transitional justice mechanisms–trials, truth commissions, amnesties, reparations, and vetting policies–and their effectiveness in achieving their goals. We conclude that transitional justice has a positive and significant impact on human rights and democracy in the societies that adopt it, but that it is the combination and sequence of mechanisms that achieves this effect, not any one mechanism alone. We contend that a “justice balance” that combines trials and amnesties, with or without truth commissions, is crucial for success in societies seeking improvements in democracy and human rights after conflict.
Justicia transicional en equilibrio: comparación de procesos, sopeso de su eficacia (Bogota, Colombia: Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 2016), w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne
A Spanish translation of Transitional Justice in Balance: Comparing Processes, Weighing Efficacy
Edited Volumes
Special Issue: The Role of Datasets in Transitional Justice Research, Transitional Justice Review 1:4 (2016), w. Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm
Journal Articles
“Military Legal Power, Unchecked,” NACLA Report on the Americas 55:4 (2023), w. Brett J. Kyle
“Diálogos entre autores: Intervencionismo militar en las democracias latinoamericanas,” Política y Gobierno 28:2 (2021), w. Brett J. Kyle and Julio Ríos-Figueroa
“A New Dawn for Latin American Militaries,” NACLA Report on the Americas 51:1 (2019): 18-28, w. Brett Kyle
“Behind Bars and Bargains: New Findings on Transitional Justice in Emerging Democracies,” International Studies Quarterly 63:1 (2019): 99-110, w. Geoff Dancy, Bridget Marchesi, Tricia D. Olsen, Leigh A. Payne, and Kathryn Sikkink [Data] [Figure 1 Data] [STATA do file] [Replication Memo] [Supplementary Materials]
“Editorial Note,” Transitional Justice Review 4:1 (2016): 1-6, w. Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm
“Does Spoiling Work? Assessing the Impact of Spoilers on Civil War Peace Agreements,” Civil Wars 17:1 (2015): 89-111
“Research Note: Transitional Justice in Higher Education: Assessing the State of the Discipline,” Transitional Justice Review 1:3 (2015): 123-32, w. Karen Zamora Surian (Mount Holyoke College ’13)
“Overcoming Impunity: Pathways to Accountability in Latin America,” International Journal of Transitional Justice 8:1 (2014): 75-98, w. Francesca Lessa, Tricia D. Olsen, Leigh A. Payne, and Gabriel Pereira
“Examining the Use of Amnesties and Pardons as a Response to Internal Armed Conflict,” Israel Law Review 47:1 (2014): 133-47
“Persistent or Eroding Impunity? The Divergent Effects of Legal Challenges to Amnesty Laws for Past Human Rights Violations,” Israel Law Review 47:1 (2014): 105-31, w. Francesca Lessa, Tricia D. Olsen, Leigh A. Payne, and Gabriel Pereira
“Militarized Justice in New Democracies: Explaining the Process of Military Court Reform in Latin America,” Law & Society Review 47:2 (2013): 375-407, w. Brett J. Kyle
“Transitional Justice and Civil War: Exploring New Pathways, Challenging Old Guideposts,” Transitional Justice Review 1:1 (2013): 137-69, w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne
“Dictating Justice: Human Rights and Military Courts in Latin America,” Armed Forces & Society 38:1 (2012): 27-48, w. Brett J. Kyle
“Taking Stock: Transitional Justice and Market Effects,” Journal of Human Rights 10:4 (2011): 521-43, w. Tricia D. Olsen and Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm
“Transitional Justice in Latin America,” International Studies Review [Forum: Transitional Justice: The Quest for Theory to Inform Policy] 13:3 (2011): 558-64, w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne
“Transitional Justice in the World, 1970-2007: Insights from a New Dataset,” Journal of Peace Research 47:6 (2010): 803-9, w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne
“The Justice Balance: When Transitional Justice Improves Human Rights and Democracy,” Human Rights Quarterly 32:4 (2010): 980-1007, w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne [Methodological Appendix]
“When Truth Commissions Improve Human Rights,” International Journal of Transitional Justice 4:3 (2010): 457-76, w. Tricia D. Olsen, Leigh A. Payne, and Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm
“At What Cost? A Political Economy Approach to Transitional Justice,” Taiwan Journal of Democracy 6:1 (2010): 165-84, w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne
“Equilibrando Julgamentos e Anistias na América Latina: Perspectivas Comparativa e Teórica,” Revista Anistia Política e Justiça de Transição2 (2010): 152-75, w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne [Portuguese, published in Brazil]
“Does Transitional Justice Work? Latin America in Comparative Perspective,” Global Studies Review 5:3 (Fall/Winter 2009), w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne
Book Chapters
“The Development of Transitional Justice,” in An Introduction to Transitional Justice, edited by Olivera Simic (London, UK: Routledge Press, 2016)
“Measuring the Success of Transitional Justice,” in An Introduction to Transitional Justice, edited by Olivera Simic (London, UK: Routledge Press, 2016)
“The Arrest Warrant for the Sudanese President Strengthened International Justice,” in Genocide and Persecution: Darfur, edited by Noah Berlatsky (San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 2015) [Reprint of “ICC Victory Over Immunity in Recent Clash with al-Bashir”]
“Difficult but Ultimately Rewarding: Lessons from Transitional Justice in Latin America,” in Transitional Justice and the Arab Spring, edited by Kirsten Fisher and Robert Stewart (London, UK: Routledge Press, 2014)
“Superar a Impunidade na América Latina,” in Justiça de transição das Américas: olhares interdisciplinares, fundamento e padrões de efetivação, edited by José Carlos Moreira da Silva Filho, Marcelo D. Torelly, and Paulo Abrão (Brasilia, Brazil: Editora Forum, 2013), w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne
“Conclusion: Amnesty in the Age of Accountability,” in Amnesty in the Age of Human Rights Accountability: Comparative and International Perspectives, edited by Leigh A. Payne and Francesca Lessa (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2012), w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A.Payne
“Amnesty in the Age of Accountability: Brazil in Comparative Context,” in Real Social Science: Applied Phronesis, edited by Bent Flyvbjerg, Todd Landman, and Sanford Schram (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2012), w. Tricia D. Olsen and Leigh A. Payne
Policy Papers
“Conflict Prevention and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence,” Background Paper for United Nations-World Bank Flagship Study, “Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict,” Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2017, w. Laura Bernal-Bermúdez, Chris Mahony, and Leigh A. Payne
Op-Eds and Media Appearances
“Why the US Must Not Repeat the Mistakes of the Civil War in Dealing with Jan. 6 Offenders,” The Boston Globe, March 26, 2024
“Biden Must Overrule the Pentagon and Disclose Russia’s War Crimes,” The Hill, March 24, 2023
The Afternoon Buzz (On the War in Ukraine), WHMP Radio, January 17, 2023
Scripp’s News “The Why” (On the Political Crisis in Brazil), January 12, 2023
“As Brazil Reels from Riots, Bolsonaro Finds Home in Florida,” Associated Press, January 9, 2023
“For Hemispheric Unity, a Change in U.S. Foreign Policy is Needed,” NACLA Report on the Americas, April 8, 2022, w. Brett J. Kyle
The Afternoon Buzz (On Ukraine and International Relations), WHMP Radio, April 4, 2022
“Why Putin Will Not Be Put on Trial,” Newsweek, March 24, 2022
The Afternoon Buzz (On War Crimes in Ukraine), WHMP Radio, March 15, 2022
“Why Have Military Courts Become Such a Popular Tool of Repression?” Political Violence at a Glance, January 24, 2022, w. Brett J. Kyle
“Why the United States Needs to Intervene in Haiti — Again,” The Boston Globe, July 12, 2021 [Online and in Print Edition’
“A 9/11-Style Commission on the Capitol Insurrection is Destined to Fail,” The Boston Globe, February 17, 2021 [Online and in Print Edition]
“The Violence Paradox,” PBS Nova, November 20, 2019
“How to Put ISIS Members On Trial: The Best Way — The Only Real Option — is a New Hybrid International Tribunal,” Arc Digital, July 9, 2019
“The Crisis in Venezuela,” WGBY’s Connecting Points, May 9, 2019
“Arrest Sudan’s Ousted War Criminal Dictator: Out of Self-Interest, Sudan’s Military Should turn Over Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court,” Arc Digital, April 15, 2019
“Latin America’s Re-Militarization,” Jacobin Magazine, November 10, 2018, w. Brett J. Kyle (reprint of “Militarization Redux”)
“Brazil’s most popular politician, Lula, won’t be on the October presidential ballot. Here’s what comes next,” Monkey Cage, Washington Post, September 5, 2018, w. Brett J. Kyle
“Militarization Redux: Across the Region, Latin America’s Militaries are Regaining Power through the Court System,” NACLA Report on the Americas, July 27, 2018, w. Brett J. Kyle
“Transitional Justice, the Rule of Law, and Conflict Recurrence,” Development for Peace: Solutions to Tackle Fragility, Conflict, Violence, The World Bank, April 11, 2018, w. Laura Bernal-Bermúdez, Chris Mahony, Leigh A. Payne, and Tricia D. Olsen
“The Wrong Choice in Colombia: Colombian Voters Made a Mistake by Rejecting a Long Sought Peace Deal,” U.S. News & World Report, October 4, 2016
“Unintended Consequences in Confederate Flag’s Forced Retreat,” Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA), July 8, 2015
“Are We Finally Ousting the World’s Last Dictators? Sadly, No,” The Duck of Minerva, November 3, 2014
“Some Good News for Iraq: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Stepping Down is a Positive Step for the Nascent Democracy,” U.S. News & World Report, August 15, 2014
“Japan, South Korea Rift and Obama’s Role in Diplomacy,” The Huffington Post, April 16, 2014, w. Calvin Chen
“ICC Victory over Immunity in Recent Clash with al-Bashir,” The Duck of Minerva, October 3, 2013
“Big Questions in Agent Orange Clean Up,” The Providence Journal, September 16, 2012 [Reprinted in a number of local newspapers throughout the United States]
“Assad Faces Exile or Fight to Finish,” The Providence Journal, March 11, 2012
“Yemen Loses a Dictator, but Not His Shadow,” The Christian Science Monitor, February 23, 2012 [Reprinted in The Nation (Pakistan)]
“Failed Transitional Justice in Egypt,” International Policy Digest, October 16, 2011 [Available Upon Request]
Encyclopedia Entries
The Encyclopedia of Transitional Justice, First Edition, edited by Nadya Nedelsky and Lavinia Stan (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2013)
- “Panama,” w. Stephanie Fenner (Macalester College ’11)
- “Truth Commission of Panama”
The Encyclopedia of Transitional Justice, Second Edition, edited by Nadya Nedelsky and Lavinia Stan (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming)
- “Commission for Looted art in Europe”
- “Mali,” w. Julia Kellerbauer (Mount Holyoke ’18)
- “Commission to Clarify Past Human Rights Violations and Acts of Violence That Have Caused the Guatemalan People to Suffer,” w. Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm
- “Panama,” w. Stephanie Fenner (Macalester College ’11)
- “Truth Commission of Panama”
Book Reviews
After Violence: Transitional Justice, Peace, and Democracy, by Elin Skaar, Camila Gianella Malca, and Trine Eide (New York, NY: Routledge, 2015), in Latin American Politics and Society 58:3 (2016): 158-60.
Constitutional Courts as Mediators: Armed Conflict, Civil-Military Relations, and the Rule of Law in Latin America, by Julio Rios-Figueroa (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2016), for Global Military Justice Reform, July 20, 2016
Judging State-Sponsored Violence, Imagining Political Change, by Bronwyn Leebaw (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011), in Ethics & International Affairs 27:2 (2013)
Transitional Justice and Displacement, edited by Roger Duthie (New York, NY: Social Science Research Council, 2012) in Perspectives on Politics 11:1 (2013): 342-43
Why Peace Fails: The Causes and Prevention of Civil War Recurrence, by Charles T. Call (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2012) in Political Science Quarterly 127:4 (2012-13): 732-33
The Mediation Dilemma, by Kyle Beardsley (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2011) in Political Studies Review 10:3 (2012): 408-09
Civil Society, Conflicts and the Politicization of Human Rights, edited by Raffaele Marchetti and Nathalie Tocci (New York, NY: United Nations University Press, 2011) in Political Studies Review 10:3 (2012): 434
Militias and the Challenges of Post-Conflict Peace: Silencing the Guns, by Chris Alden, Monika Thakur, and Matthew Arnold (New York, NY: Zed Books, 2011) in Political Studies Review 10:3 (2012): 429
Strengthening Peace in Post-Civil War States: Transforming Spoilers into Stakeholders, edited by Matthew Hoddie and Caroline A. Hartzell (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2010) in Marine Corps University Journal 3:1 (2012): 112-14
Winning the War on War: The Decline of Armed Conflict Worldwide, by Joshua S. Goldstein (New York, NY: Dutton Press, 2011), in Journal of Politics 74:2 (2012)
Sex, Drugs, and Body Counts: The Politics of Numbers in Global Crime and Conflict, edited by Peter Andreas and Kelly Greenhill (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2010) in Marine Corps University Journal 2:1 (2011): 162-64
Necessary Evils: Amnesties and the Search for Justice, by Mark Freeman (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2009) in H-Human-Rights, H-Net Reviews (May 2011)
Electing to Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go to War, by Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005) in Exploring Globalization (March 2008)