TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

Picture
Visiting a prison in Sulamaniyah, Iraq, where alleged Islamic State fighters are detained (February 2017)
After the Islamic State:
Balancing Accountability and Reconciliation in Iraq
Short article summary in Lawfare
Retribution or Reconciliation?
​Attitudes Toward Rebel Collaborators in Iraq
​
(with Kristen Kao)
This report addresses how Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) authorities can, in the aftermath of the retaking of Mosul and other formerly IS-controlled areas, accurately and fairly distinguish between IS affiliates who pose a genuine threat to national security and civilians who merely lived and worked in areas controlled by the group. It also assesses how trust can be rebuilt in multi-religious, multi-ethnic communities, where Sunnis are feared or resented for their actual or perceived collaboration with IS, and what strategies can help bring an end to cycles of violence and revenge. It further considers whether transitional justice frameworks could offer an alternative to the dominant, highly punitive approach, by granting amnesty for individuals who are not accused of serious crimes. The report is based on fieldwork and interviews conducted in diverse locations in Iraq in April and December 2017, observations of trials of IS affiliates, and a large-scale survey of more than 1,400 residents of Mosul.

Rebel groups require the cooperation of many civilians who are commonly perceived as “collaborators” after conflict ends. The limited empirical work that exists on attitudes toward collaborators focuses on fighters, ignoring the need for more nuanced understandings of proportional justice for non-combatants. Through a survey experiment in an Iraqi city that was controlled by the Islamic State for more than three years, we find that social identity is a weak determinant of preferences for punishment and forgiveness compared to the type of collaboration itself. Our results also fail to sup- port the hypothesis that exposure to violence drives a desire for revenge. Instead, the perceived volition behind an act is important, although its effect varies depending on the type of collaboration. Our research offers uniquely fine-grained data and insights into the factors that shape perceptions of individual rebel culpability, with important policy implications for balancing accountability with the need for reconciliation.