Elusive Peace, Security, and Justice in Post-Conflict Guatemala: An Exploration of Transitional Justice and the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG)

Guatemala has, until today, struggled to achieve security and justice following the end of nearly half a century of civil war in 1996. One specific institution, the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), has been implemented to rectify many of the Guatemalan state’s difficulties in establishing and maintaining the rule of law. In this thesis, I look to better explain CICIG’s role in Guatemala relative to security and justice in a post-conflict setting: I define CICIG as an institution potentially capable of building societal trust, and I explain how the inclusion of procedural justice within transitional justice can help it do that. I also explain CICIG’s transitional justice-based role, both institutionally and functionally. CICIG is afflicted with issues that have arisen in a post-conflict setting, after all. Finally, I analyze and discuss CICIG’s successes and drawbacks relative to both its organizational mandate and the goals of transitional justice, and I make recommendations on how CICIG and/or other similarly constituted institutions could be made to function more efficiently and effectively