Ignorance, transitional justice and the power of what we don’t (want to) know

Abstract†† Let us turn the page of history. This is a frequently stated goal of the transitional justice field. However, conceiving, designin, and implementing justice following large-scale violations of human rights is riven with knowledge problems and politics: Whose vision of justice counts? Whose voice is heard? Whose experiences of violence are acknowledged? These questions have tended to be addressed by a search to uncover new knowledge which will improve understanding and inform practice. This review argues that ignorance is an important yet overlooked piece of the puzzle. Each of the three books discussed point to ways in which we might usefully employ ignorance as an entry point into some of the most pressing debates in the transitional justice field. Simply put, the review asks whether ignorance plays a role in transitional justice and what we might miss if we ignore it.