Testimonies, expert discourse and truth commissions: the context of denunciation

  • Silvia Rodríguez Maeso Centro de Estudos Sociais – CES, Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_POSO.2011.v48.n3.36422
Keywords: Truth Commissions, Testimonies, Expert Discourse, Judicial / Historical Truth, Peru.

Abstract

This text analyses Truth Commissions as a political mechanism engaging with two main questions: one, the central role of testimonies in providing both ethical and political legitimacy to truth commissions and information regarding the violation of human rights; two, the work of professionals from law and the social sciences in providing scientific legitimacy and in their position as ‘privileged’ witnesses of the truth-telling process. Throughout the analysis of a specific case —the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission— I discuss the possibilities of scientific knowledge to produce a more complete understanding of “the violence” and the need to question certain interpretative assumptions regarding the political agency of certain populations, in this case, of the Andean rural communities.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article download

Crossmark

Metrics

Published
2011-11-22
How to Cite
Rodríguez Maeso S. (2011). Testimonies, expert discourse and truth commissions: the context of denunciation. Política y Sociedad, 48(3), 587-602. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_POSO.2011.v48.n3.36422
Issue
Vol. 48 No. 3 (2011): Después de la violencia
Section
Monographic

License

In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Política y Sociedad is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.