Moral Foundations of Truth Commissions in Theory and Practice

by Lara A. Pfaff

An Independent Study Thesis
submitted to the Departments of Political Science and Philosophy
at The College of Wooster
March 2008
in partial fulfillment of the I.S. Thesis

In the fields of political science and philosophy there has been growing interest in the implementation of truth commissions as a means to address past human rights violations in transitional societies. Thus far, there has been little overlap between the disciplines; philosophers have tended to focus on the underlying moral questions while political scientists have been most concerned with the assessment of outcomes. Drawing on the strengths of each, this Independent Study thesis seeks to clarify the moral justifications for truth commissions. First, this study explores three philosophical arguments for the moral foundations of truth commissions through their embodiment of one of three values: democratic reciprocity, acknowledgment or sympathy. All three arguments use as their model the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This study reviews the relevant political literature and concludes that the strength of political science—its ability to systematically collect and analyze empirical data—has largely been applied to examining the commissions’ outcomes, but not their process. Given the variation of context and the numerous political constraints influencing truth commissions, this study employs a qualitative case study methodology to investigate the presence and manifestation of the values identified by the theory. Through an exploration of the moral values within a new case, the Salvadoran Commission on the Truth, this study provides a richer understanding of the moral justifications for truth commissions.

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