Date of Award

Spring 2020

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Major

Human Rights and Political Science

First Advisor

Benjamin Carbonetti

Abstract

Many countries around the world have suffered from disastrous dictatorships riddled with human rights abuses. This thesis aims to answer the question of what happens after the dictatorship to address these human rights violations and why the responses differ from country to country. This paper poses six possible explanations as to what motivates justice, specifically prosecutions against former perpetrators: 1) the heinousness of the human rights violations, 2) the type of transition, 3) the legal structure, 4) the role of the executive, 5) international pressure through transnational advocacy networks, and 6) diffusion theory--the occurrence of similar justice policies in geographically proximate or culturally similar countries. Next, the paper articulates the cases of Argentina and Chile--the two case studies--and measures the validity of each hypothesis. Ultimately, this thesis argues 1) the severity of violence during the dictatorships, 2) the type of transition, 3) the legal structure, 4) the role of the executive, and 5) diffusion theory explain the justice policies in the short and long-term while more data must exist to determine the extent of the sway of international pressure.

Comments

Senior thesis completed at Trinity College, Hartford CT for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights and Political Science.

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