Truth commissions are increasingly common after conflict and authoritarian rule, yet we know little about the different ways they are being used. Despite recent efforts to bridge conceptual gaps and resolve disagreement over the universe of cases, TCs are notoriously undertheorised and proponents have yet to answer why their record is so inconsistent. Through developing a typological approach to TCs, the article lays the groundwork for exploring the forms they need to take to have an impact. It argues for a (...) more nuanced understanding of the term that captures both the breadth of current practice and recasts conceptual debates on the spectrum of design options that are available to policymakers but are often overlooked. The findings are important as they offer a first set of impressions on emerging spatial and temporal patterns and trends that are developing due to the purported transnational diffusion and social learning of ideas about TCs. (shrink)

The experiences of many transitional justice mechanisms have led to a general consensus on the central importance of local legitimacy and local ownership; this indeed is repeatedly avowed by both the UN and the EU in their prescriptions on effective transitional justice mechanisms. Yet, I argue that the Kosovo Specialist Chambers was established in the absence of both. The court was not created in response to domestic pressure from within Kosovo; rather, it was the result of external pressure which by (...) definition compromised local ownership and legitimacy. Drawing on the findings from first-hand qualitative research, I demonstrate that the court’s local legitimacy has not improved since its establishment. This lack of legitimacy, I argue, has potentially negative implications as, without popular legitimacy, the court’s proceedings and judgements are unlikely to command sufficient public support to either catalyse the societal changes promised by the court’s external sponsors, or withstand opposition to the court from within the Kosovo Albanian population resulting from any perceived slight against the ‘heroic’ KLA. (shrink)