The language of inclusion : using critical corpus-based methods to study the presence and representation of 'women, children and vulnerable groups' in Liberia's Truth Commission
- Author
- Elke Evrard (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
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- VICTPART (Righting Victim Participation in Transitional Justice - VictPart)
- Abstract
- While inclusion, participation and victim-centredness have become catchwords in transitional justice discourse, this rhetoric has not necessarily enabled the articulation of more complex identities and experiences, or the pursuit of varied justice claims. To probe this disconnect, this article engages with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia, a mechanism established to reckon with the country's history of internal armed conflict, and hailed for its involvement of vulnerable, disenfranchised and oft-overlooked groups. The article combines expressive theories of justice with an innovative corpus-based methodology to critically examine how the Commission made visible, defined and construed these actors through its language of inclusion. Results from word frequency, co-occurrence and sentiment analyses illustrate how the Commission foregrounded the plight and rights of women and children, and their participation as a vehicle for emancipation, but simultaneously reproduced universalist and static identities, fixation on sexual violence and child soldier recruitment, and subject positions lacking in positive or political capabilities. This duality points to inherent tensions in the expressive messaging of TJ institutions, and rather locates the transformative potential of their inclusionary language in the strategic openings it affords for victims' groups, women and youth organizations in their broader trajectories towards justice and change.
- Keywords
- Transitional justice, Text mining, Critical discourse analysis, Expressive theories of justice, Liberia, Victim participation, Truth and reconciliation commission
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01H8E8KMQ7VHQZSSDJ5ARXSH4N
- MLA
- Evrard, Elke. “The Language of Inclusion : Using Critical Corpus-Based Methods to Study the Presence and Representation of ‘women, Children and Vulnerable Groups’ in Liberia’s Truth Commission.” SOCIAL JUSTICE RESEARCH, vol. 37, no. 2, 2024, pp. 149–79, doi:10.1007/s11211-023-00411-z.
- APA
- Evrard, E. (2024). The language of inclusion : using critical corpus-based methods to study the presence and representation of “women, children and vulnerable groups” in Liberia’s Truth Commission. SOCIAL JUSTICE RESEARCH, 37(2), 149–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-023-00411-z
- Chicago author-date
- Evrard, Elke. 2024. “The Language of Inclusion : Using Critical Corpus-Based Methods to Study the Presence and Representation of ‘women, Children and Vulnerable Groups’ in Liberia’s Truth Commission.” SOCIAL JUSTICE RESEARCH 37 (2): 149–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-023-00411-z.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Evrard, Elke. 2024. “The Language of Inclusion : Using Critical Corpus-Based Methods to Study the Presence and Representation of ‘women, Children and Vulnerable Groups’ in Liberia’s Truth Commission.” SOCIAL JUSTICE RESEARCH 37 (2): 149–179. doi:10.1007/s11211-023-00411-z.
- Vancouver
- 1.Evrard E. The language of inclusion : using critical corpus-based methods to study the presence and representation of “women, children and vulnerable groups” in Liberia’s Truth Commission. SOCIAL JUSTICE RESEARCH. 2024;37(2):149–79.
- IEEE
- [1]E. Evrard, “The language of inclusion : using critical corpus-based methods to study the presence and representation of ‘women, children and vulnerable groups’ in Liberia’s Truth Commission,” SOCIAL JUSTICE RESEARCH, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 149–179, 2024.
@article{01H8E8KMQ7VHQZSSDJ5ARXSH4N,
abstract = {{While inclusion, participation and victim-centredness have become catchwords in transitional justice discourse, this rhetoric has not necessarily enabled the articulation of more complex identities and experiences, or the pursuit of varied justice claims. To probe this disconnect, this article engages with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia, a mechanism established to reckon with the country's history of internal armed conflict, and hailed for its involvement of vulnerable, disenfranchised and oft-overlooked groups. The article combines expressive theories of justice with an innovative corpus-based methodology to critically examine how the Commission made visible, defined and construed these actors through its language of inclusion. Results from word frequency, co-occurrence and sentiment analyses illustrate how the Commission foregrounded the plight and rights of women and children, and their participation as a vehicle for emancipation, but simultaneously reproduced universalist and static identities, fixation on sexual violence and child soldier recruitment, and subject positions lacking in positive or political capabilities. This duality points to inherent tensions in the expressive messaging of TJ institutions, and rather locates the transformative potential of their inclusionary language in the strategic openings it affords for victims' groups, women and youth organizations in their broader trajectories towards justice and change.}},
author = {{Evrard, Elke}},
issn = {{0885-7466}},
journal = {{SOCIAL JUSTICE RESEARCH}},
keywords = {{Transitional justice,Text mining,Critical discourse analysis,Expressive theories of justice,Liberia,Victim participation,Truth and reconciliation commission}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{149--179}},
title = {{The language of inclusion : using critical corpus-based methods to study the presence and representation of 'women, children and vulnerable groups' in Liberia's Truth Commission}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-023-00411-z}},
volume = {{37}},
year = {{2024}},
}
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