Spectres of Reparation in South Africa: Re-encountering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Description

This book argues that South Africa is haunted by the spectre of reparation. The failure of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission to secure adequate reparation for the victims of colonisation and apartheid continues to drastically undermine the commission’s processes and legacy. Investigating the TRC’s key processes of amnesty, archiving and forgiveness in turn, the book demonstrates that each process is fundamentally thwarted by the terminal lack of reparation. These multiple forms of the spectre of reparation haunt post-apartheid society in deeply traumatogenic ways. The book proposes a new ethic of "reparative citizenship" as a means of encountering the spectres of reparation in a productive and transformative manner, generating hope even in the face of the irreparable. This book will be an important read for South Africans interested in overcoming the impasses and injustices that haunt the country, but it will also be of interest to post-conflict transitional justice and politics researchers more broadly. Cover Endorsement Page Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 The Ghost in the “Impossible Machine”: Reparation and the Biopolitics of Transition Chapter 3 On Apology and the Spectre of a Haunting Shame in the TRC’s Process Chapter 4 The Spectre of Reparation in the Archive: The TRC’s Work on the Role of Business During Apartheid and the Ongoing Demand for Reparation Chapter 5 The Spectre as Refusal: Reparation and Forgiveness in the Work of Mourning Chapter 6 Creative Haunting: Towards the Poetic Justice of Reparative Citizenship Chapter 7 Conclusion Index