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Agonism and the power ofvictim testimony
Sonali Chakravarti
Victim testimony, the public testimony of those who experienced violence, in the context of a truth commission may be one of the best contemporary examples of an agonistic moment in political life. This chapter will examine the ways in which it embodies the characteristics of agonism while also suggesting that such testimony generates new questions for agonistic theory, especially as it pertains to transitional justice. Attention to the expression of anger in victim testimony serves as a limit case for the agonistic conception and is the focus of my argument about the potential for a relationship between agonism and the work of restorative justice.
Proponents of an agonistic conception ...
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