Congratulations to Dr Laura Martin on the publication of her new book Navigating Local Transitional Justice: Agency at Work in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone (Cambridge University Press).
Laura graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2017 with a PhD in African studies. She was a Co-Investigator on an AHRC project entitled "Performing Arts and Social Violence" which examined how the performing arts (comedy, theatre and dance) can be used to open up spaces for discussion about Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) in Sierra Leone and South Africa. Laura also co-authored Humour and Politics in Africa: Beyond Resistance (Bristol University Press) which was published in March 2023.
Her current research looks at SGBV and justice in Sierra Leone and South Africa, as well as the conceptual relationships between humour and violence in Everyday International Relations.
Find out more about Laura, her research and teaching in her staff profile.
Synopsis of Navigating Local Transitional Justice: Agency at Work in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone
In post-war Sierra Leone, a range of transitional justice mechanisms were implemented to address experiences of conflict and violence during the civil war (1991-2002). Much of the research on local transitional justice processes has focused on the work of organisations, failing to acknowledge how individual and communal dynamics shape and are shaped by these programs. Drawing on extensive ethnographic and qualitative fieldwork in rural Sierra Leone, this book highlights the crucial role of agency and the diverse range of actors involved in transitional justice processes. Justice, as Martin powerfully argues, is not something that happens to or for people, but is enacted by individuals and communities.
Congratulations Laura!
Posted on Thursday 18th May 2023