Tackling structural violence through the transformative justice framework

This chapter introduces the conceptual category of structural violence, increasingly prevalent in mainstream academic and policy debates, and argues that it is the key problem confronting transitional countries. It analyses the successes and failures of transitional justice processes in addressing this central concern. The main argument presented is that reducing structural violence requires transitional processes and mechanisms to embrace the more ambitious transformative justice framework. The chapter explores the potential of transitional justice to reduce structural violence, before suggesting that a deeper commitment to transformative justice is required to achieve the aim. It discusses the development of this new framework and how it differs from transitional justice in its perspective towards structural violence. The chapter investigates the interactions of land with direct and structural violence in Colombia, utilises the model to outline the potential contribution of two public policy initiatives to reducing structural violence in rural areas.