Sitting on Powder Kegs: Socioeconomic Rights in Transitional Societies

Considerable progress has been made in the field of transitional justice in recent years, signified by such landmarks as a permanent international criminal court. Unaddressed aspects of transition remain, however, which need serious attention if peace is to be sustainable in the long term. Oppressive political arrangements favor particular segments of society while simultaneously disenfranchising and economically and socially excluding the less powerful. To date, transitional justice initiatives have focused on the cessation of violence, establishing order and correcting civil and political injustices. Social and economic factors have taken second or no place at all. Yet, social and economic grievances can be ‘powder kegs’ that, if left unaddressed, threaten to blow up peace initiatives. Zimbabwe provides empirical evidence of the dangers of marginalizing economic and social imperatives in the transition from repression.