Description
Book SynopsisDrawing from his ethnographic work in the former East Germany and with select comparisons to East-Central European states, the author examines the construction of categories of criminality. He argues against the claims that economic growth, liberal democracy, or acts of reconciliation are means to legitimate the transformed East bloc states.
Trade Review"As Borneman notes, from Argentina to South Korea, people are struggling with the proper response to past abuse... [Readers} will be rewarded with a subtle, albeit hardly indisputable, notion of 'retributive justice' and its value."--Foreign Affairs
Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPt. 1Framing, Comparing, Historicizing1Ch. 1Framing the Rule of Law in East-Central Europe3Ch. 2Comparing: Decommunization - Recommunization - Reform?26Ch. 3Historicizing the Rule of Law40Pt. 2Ethnography of Criminality57Ch. 4The Invocation of the Rechtsstaat in East Germany: Governmental and Unification Criminality59Ch. 5Accountability on Trial80Pt. 3Ethnography of Vindication97Ch. 6Democratic Accountability: Results, Evaluations, Ramifications99Ch. 7Justice and Dignity: Victims, Vindication, and Accountability111Pt. 4Legitimacy137Ch. 8The Rule of Law and the State: Violence, Justice, and Legitimacy139Notes167Bibliography177Index187Name Index195
