‘Calling for Inclusion’: Negotiating Boundaries in the Transitional Justice Script

Line Jespersgaard Jakobsen; Thomas Obel Hansen; Line Engbo Gissel

doi:10.1353/hrq.2025.a965926

‘Calling for Inclusion’: Negotiating Boundaries in the Transitional Justice Script

Line Jespersgaard Jakobsen, Thomas Obel Hansen, Line Engbo Gissel

Roskilde University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

As transitional justice (TJ) has gained prominence as a global informal standard, it continues to receive critique for its limitations. This article examines the negotiation of the boundaries of TJ prompted by calls for inclusion, specifically for environmental justice and corporate accountability. Through a novel conceptualization of TJs possible ‘substantive expansion’, and by building on theory on boundary work and standardization, the study contributes to TJ scholarship by highlighting paradoxes of TJ's standardization: firstly, it both restricts and encourages substantive expansion. Secondly, the adoption of new issues into the script does not guarantee enforcement, leading to a norms-enforcement paradox.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	426-452
Number of pages	27
Journal	Human Rights Quarterly
Volume	47
Issue number	3
Early online date	23 Jul 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.2025.a965926
Publication status	Published (in print/issue) - 1 Aug 2025

Funding

This publication presents an outcome of the research project, “The Standardisation of Transitional Justice: Consolidation, Innovation and Politics,” funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark (grant no. 1028-00206B)

Keywords

Transitional Justice
Boundary Work
Environmental Justice
Corporate Accountability,
Substantive Expansion

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10.1353/hrq.2025.a965926

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Cite this

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title = "{\textquoteleft}Calling for Inclusion{\textquoteright}: Negotiating Boundaries in the Transitional Justice Script",

abstract = "As transitional justice (TJ) has gained prominence as a global informal standard, it continues to receive critique for its limitations. This article examines the negotiation of the boundaries of TJ prompted by calls for inclusion, specifically for environmental justice and corporate accountability. Through a novel conceptualization of TJs possible {\textquoteleft}substantive expansion{\textquoteright}, and by building on theory on boundary work and standardization, the study contributes to TJ scholarship by highlighting paradoxes of TJ's standardization: firstly, it both restricts and encourages substantive expansion. Secondly, the adoption of new issues into the script does not guarantee enforcement, leading to a norms-enforcement paradox.",

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AB - As transitional justice (TJ) has gained prominence as a global informal standard, it continues to receive critique for its limitations. This article examines the negotiation of the boundaries of TJ prompted by calls for inclusion, specifically for environmental justice and corporate accountability. Through a novel conceptualization of TJs possible ‘substantive expansion’, and by building on theory on boundary work and standardization, the study contributes to TJ scholarship by highlighting paradoxes of TJ's standardization: firstly, it both restricts and encourages substantive expansion. Secondly, the adoption of new issues into the script does not guarantee enforcement, leading to a norms-enforcement paradox.

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‘Calling for Inclusion’: Negotiating Boundaries in the Transitional Justice Script

Abstract

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Keywords

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