Introduction

This chapter argues that it is necessary in the face of new technologies and the ever-expanding scope of the field to problematise where transitional justice has come from, what it is currently doing, and to where it might evolve. It challenges the simplicity, predestination, and self-evident nature of contemporary narratives of transitional justice. It asks the reader to imagine where the field and practice of transitional justice go from here—what new innovations are required, what boundaries must be stretched or retrenched, and what perspectives need to be considered due to new ways of seeing current and past atrocities. As the introduction to the book Reframing Transitional Justice: Innovations, Boundaries, and Refractions , it attempts to upend assumptive narratives and explores how transitional justice must be interrogated and reframed on three fronts: innovations (how does transitional justice work in an era of rapid and overwhelming technological change and contestation over what constitutes human memory, communicative dialogue, and reliable evidence?); boundaries (how much can we ask of transitional justice—how many different harms, contexts, and victims can transitional justice handle?); and refractions (is transitional justice equipped to address racism, misogyny, and democratic backslides?). This chapter encourages the reader to imagine what the future of transitional justice might be.