New Books Network Maja Davidović, "Governing the Past: 'Never Again' and the Transitional Justice Project" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Dec 5, 2025
Maja Davidović, a scholar of international relations and author, dives into the intricacies of transitional justice in the context of post-conflict Bosnia. She critiques the 'Never Again' promise, revealing how it can paradoxically sustain fears of recurrence. Davidović shares personal experiences that shaped her research, discusses the role of the ICTY in history-making, and highlights the importance of ongoing practices for peace. Her insights challenge conventional narratives and suggest alternative paths for communities grappling with their past.
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Transitional Justice As An Anxiety Manager
- Transitional justice emerged as a global project to manage uncertainty after WWII and the Cold War by promising non-recurrence.
- Maja Davidović argues this governance of the past shapes ontological security and can deepen anxieties rather than simply prevent conflict.
Personal Path Into This Research
- Maja Davidović grew up in Serbia and learned about Srebrenica and transitional justice through summer schools and NGOs.
- Her personal experience of silence about the 1990s guided her academic focus on non-recurrence and reparations.
Never Again Can Heighten Anxiety
- The two global imperatives are ensuring a peaceful future and dealing with the past, linked causally by transitional justice.
- Davidović provokes that the transitional justice project can exacerbate communities' anxieties about repetition of conflict.
