| My dissertation examines the impact of domestic political strategies on the implementation of international institutional models. Employing a comparative-historical research design and cases from the former Yugoslavia, I look specifically at international institutional models of transitional justice---a set of mechanisms for new democracies to deal with crimes of the past---to measure the impact of local political calculations on international efforts. I find that, under specific domestic conditions, states use the very tools designed to resolve conflict for very different political purposes, including getting rid of domestic political opponents, obtaining international financial aid, or using transitional justice as a proxy for admission to such prestigious international clubs as the European Union. When transitional justice becomes "hijacked" for local political strategies, it can foster domestic backlash, deepen political instability, and even create alternative narratives of the past that can lead to further conflicts in the future. The more ideas of transitional justice become institutionalized internationally, the more likely states will adopt them. Paradoxically, however, they do so for reasons that can be contrary to the original transitional justice objectives. My project therefore identifies the limits international norms face. Although international models may develop for all the noble reasons, they may have the wrong effect if they are hijacked by contradictory local political strategies. |
