Transitional Justice Processes, Shared Narrative Memory about Past Collective Violence and Reconciliation

Perceptions of the “Truth and Reconciliation” and “Political Imprisonment and Torture” commissions and related beliefs, emotions and socio-emotional climate were analyzed in population affected and unaffected by past political violence in Chile (N=1278). Those with a positive evaluation of commissions’ goal of creation of an inclusive narrative, by comparison to people that disagree report higher negative emotions such as shame, as well as positive ones such as pride and hope by respect to collective past, agree more with social forgiveness, stress more learning of past collective misdeeds, perceives a more positive emotional climate, intergroup trust, confidence in institutions – however they did not share more universalistic values. A positive evaluation of the commissions’ goal of helps to prevent violence, supports justice and to know the truth about past collective violence, low exposure to past political violence, low negative emotions and high positive emotions predict positive socio-emotional climate in multiple regression analyses. Results suggest that commissions play a relatively successful role as transitional justice rituals, reinforcing reconciliation, but that the creation of an inclusive narrative or shared collective memory is less successful and less relevant that the preventive, helps to justice and to know the truth TC’ s functions