After 22 July. Transitional justice and terror explores how Norwegian society has sought to understand, respond to, and find ways forward after the 22 July 2011 attacks – both within and beyond the legal system.
On the 22 July 2011, a terrorist bombed the Norwegian government district and carried out a mass shooting at a youth camp at Utøya island. 77 people lost their lives. The lives of thousands of others changed abruptly.
Bringing together perspectives from law, criminology, socio-legal studies, sociology, political science and philosophy, the book examines criminal trials, inquiry commissions, policing reforms, victim recognition, and memorialization after 22 July as transitional justice processes and explores ways in which the struggle for justice extends beyond the closure of legal processes and criminal law, and includes ongoing and contested practices involving state institutions, civil society, and affected communities. The chapters address competing narratives, commemorative practices, and grassroots “micro-memories” as central to recognition and reconciliation, as well as tensions between security, rights, and state responsibility, and reflects on the intersection of time and expectations of justice.
By applying a transitional justice lens, the book shows the relevance of transitional justice perspectives for understanding the complexity of justice after terrorism in a democratic state, challenging the view that such frameworks only apply to post-conflict or post-authoritarian contexts.
The open access book is one of three volumes on the ripple effects of the 22. July terror attacks from the research project LAW22JULY: RIPPLES.
