Focusing on the case of Guatemala, this chapter examines a number of variables central to explaining the nature and impact of memory politics: first, the social legacies of widespread human rights violations, including who the victims and perpetrators were, and the kind of impact human rights violations had on society as a whole; second, the circumstances of the transition itself, specifically the prevailing balance of political forces and the different trade-offs between truth and justice that this engendered; third, the role of local human rights organizations and civil society in general, in particular whether and how they supported and/or contested official attempts to deal with the legacy of past violations of human rights; and fourth, the role played by international governmental and nongovernmental organizations in efforts to uncover the truth about the past and address the consequences of human rights violations. In the light of this analysis, the final section of the chapter considers the impact of memory politics on the wider process of democratization in Guatemala.
(2001) “War, Peace and the Politics of Memory in Guatemala,” in Nigel Biggar (ed.), Burying the Past: Making Peace and Doing Justice After Civil Conflict, Georgetown University Press: 184-206.
ISBN: 0-87840-394-9