Transitional Justice in Ongoing Conflicts and Post-War Reconstruction: Reintegrating Donbas into Ukraine

Abstract

Abstract:The main aim of the paper is to analyse the potential transitional justice mechanisms, directed at reintegration of Donbas, a territory temporarily occupied by pro-Russian separatists, being under the combination of a direct and indirect control of Kremlin, with Ukraine.

Diplomacy in the ‘Age of Trauma’

“…European relations are full of emotions fuelled by resentments, unfinished conflicts and historical injustices. The conflict in Ukraine is not just a war over resources and territories, it is also a clash of two narratives on the past and two contradictory interpretations of history -Crimea's or Donetsk's identity can be either Ukrainian or Russian, and this dichotomy cannot be reconciled (Averre & Wolczuk, 2018;Lachowski, 2017). The European Union is either a successfully realised vision of post-war peace and economic integration, or a bureaucratic leviathan willing to destroy nations states to enslave their inhabitants (Ágh, 2016).…”

Ukraine and the End of Post-Cold War Europe

“…The political and cultural legacy of the Revolution of Dignity -in the broader context of Russian aggression and outburst of separatism in Eastern Ukraine -formed a deep association between new Ukrainian identity and transitional justice. In fact, the conflict seems to be impossible to resolve, as it requires from both sides either accepting own failure, or resignation form contents core for identity (Lachowski, 2017). Cross-cultural evidence shows that transitional reconstruction of political (national) identities requires the active involvement of a government in the process of dealing with past injustices (Marszałek-Kawa & Wawrzyński, 2016;Marszałek-Kawa et al, 2017).…”