Transitional Justice after Clean Breaks

Book excerpt: Transitional Justice after Clean Breaks: The Case of Portugal offers a nuanced exploration of how national political actors shape transitional justice in the aftermath of authoritarian regimes. The book tackles two primary objectives: understanding the mechanisms linking the opening of a window of opportunity with transitional justice choices and unraveling the lasting effects of early decisions on justice after democracy consolidates. Filipa Raimundo and Joana Rebelo Morais present a comprehensive theoretical framework, intertwining institutional and attitudinal factors to explain the processes of coming to terms with the past that emerge out of clean break transitions. The lens provided by Portugal’s unique case study illustrates the effect of preemption and strategic calculation as well as the enduring impact of early choices in shaping the trajectory of transitional justice. Focusing on democracies emerging from collapsed regimes, this book contends that the delegitimization of the autocratic elite and its exit from power are as relevant as the anti-dictator bias and the authoritarian stigmas in shaping transitional justice debates and decision-making.