With human rights violations in Syria and explosions of violence in Afghanistan, Uganda and Darfur, people wonder when justice will prevail in the midst of conflict. Often we hear of justice being served after a conflict has ended. But can certain measures of justice be used to hasten the end of conflict?

West Virginia University Assistant Professor Cyanne E. Loyle received $76,000 in funding through the National Science Foundation for her research on transitional justice during ongoing conflict. Loyle’s award is the first ever from the National Science Foundation for the Department of Political Science at WVU.

In collaboration with the Peace Research Institute Oslo, Loyle is investigating different justice measures, including trials, truth commissions and pardons that are put in place during periods of internal armed conflict. This project is an extension of previous work Loyle has completed with the institute on the prevalence of transitional justice once conflict has ended.

Using data on violence from all over the world, Loyle and three WVU political science doctoral candidates (Gillian Beach from Frederick, Md., Matthew Conaway from Lebanon, Ohio and Matthew Arp from Conneaut, Ohio) are looking at all periods of conflict after World War II. The team is gathering information about when justice processes are put in place, the types of different measures taken and the influence of these processes on the outcome of the conflict.

Loyle is questioning if certain measures, such as trials and pardons, effect the duration of the conflict and the stability of peace within that country.

“If a certain measure, such as a trial, helps to bring an end to the conflict, that measure should be used more often in future armed conflicts,” Loyle said. “If another measure is shown to have no effect on conflict duration, then other, more effective methods should be considered so the violence can be ended as quickly as possible.

“In Uganda, for example, the Museveni government has tried to fight the Lord’s Resistance Army with multiple trials of LRA members, a truth commission, a local justice process called Mato Oput, international justice efforts in the form ICC referrals as well as at least three separate amnesty agreements. My question is, ‘Are these processes working and how can we get them to work better?’”

Loyle says that sometimes justice measures are instituted during conflict as a manipulative strategy by the government to gain power or win the war instead of with the purpose of ending conflict. A country may use a pardon as leverage over a rebel group in an attempt to defeat the group rather than to negotiate a peaceful settlement. In addition to investigating how transitional justice can be used to shorten conflicts, Loyle is researching how governments use these tactics to gain or consolidate power over an enemy.

“Information from this study could be key in finding effective conflict termination strategies, and understanding the role that justice processes can play in shortening current and future periods of conflict,” Loyle said.

Loyle received her doctorate from the University of Maryland. Her research and teaching interests include conflict studies, African politics and transitional justice.

For more information, contact Cyanne E. Loyle, at 304-293-9600 or Cyanne.Loyle@mail.wvu.edu

-WVU-

gd/10/03/12

CONTACT: Rebecca Herod, Director of Marketing and Communication
304-293-9264, Rebecca.Herod@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.