Applied Anthropology in Transitional Justice

The dissonance between local and global transitional justice imperatives has been the source of interdisciplinary debate with scholars highlighting the tensions between theory and practice. While researchers such as Sally Merry have discussed the human rights practitioner as a translator between global international human rights norms and local cultural understandings, little has been said regarding the potential for anthropologists to translate transitional justice between the state and survivors. This article demonstrates the need for applied anthropology in transitional justice models, illustrated with data drawn from the Canadian national transitional justice context. In this project, ethnographic data gathered from 2011–2014 is used to analyze the independent assessment process, or monetary reparations process. Using this example, I demonstrate a need for anthropological “translators” who can assess need, evaluate risk, and utilize a participatory action approach in transitional justice development.