Politics and the Past

Politics and the Past offers an original, multidisciplinary exploration of the growing public controversy over reparations for historical injustices. Demonstrating that "reparations politics" has become one of the most important features of international politics in recent years, the authors analyze why this is the case and show that reparations politics can be expected to be a major aspect of international affairs in coming years. In addition to broad theoretical and philosophical reflection, the book includes discussions of the politics of reparations in specific countries and regions, including the United States, France, Latin America, Japan, Canada, and Rwanda. The volume presents a nuanced, historically grounded, and critical perspective on the many campaigns for reparations currently afoot in a variety of contexts around the world. All readers working or teaching in the fields of transitional justice, the politics of memory, and social movements will find this book a rich and provocative contribution to this complex debate.

John Torpey is associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology and the Institute for European Studies, the University of British Columbia.

Chapter 1 Preface and Acknowledgements
Chapter 2 Chapter 1: Introduction: Politics and the Past
Part 3 Part One: Historical and Theoretical Considerations on the Spread of Reparations Politics
Chapter 4 Chapter 2: The Politics of Regret: Analytical Frames
Chapter 5 Chapter 3: Coming to Terms with the Past
Chapter 6 Chapter 4: Restitution and Amending Historical Injustices in International Morality
Chapter 7 Chapter 5: Reflections on Reparations
Part 8 Part Two: Reparations Politics: Case Studies
Chapter 9 Chapter 6: Calculating Slavery Reparations: Theory, Numbers and Implications
Chapter 10 Chapter 7: War Compensation: Claims Against the Japanese Government and Japanese Corporations for War Crimes
Chapter 11 Chapter 8: Competing Discourses on Reparations: Human Rights, Aboriginal People and the Australian Government
Chapter 12 Chapter 9: Negotiating New Relationships: Canadian Museums, First Nations, and Cultural Property
Chapter 13 Chapter 10: Is Truth Enough? Reparations and Reconciliation in Latin America
Chapter 15 Chapter 11: Moral Integrity and Reparations for Africa
Chapter 16 Chapter 12: Wealth of Nations: Aboriginal Treaty-Making in the Era of Globalization
Chapter 17 Chapter 13: Victims of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, and War Crimes in Rwanda: The Legal and Institutional Framework of Their Right to Reparation
Part 18 Part Three: Judging the Past
Chapter 19 Chapter 14: Justice, History, and Memory in France: Reflections on the Papon Trial
Chapter 20 Chapter 15: Overcoming the Past? Narrative and Negotiation, Remembering and Reparation: Issues at the Interface of History and the Law