The Impossible Machine: A Genealogy of South Africa''s Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Adam Sitze meticulously traces the origins of South Africa''s Truth and Reconciliation Commission to two well-established instruments of colonial and imperial governance: the jurisprudence of indemnity and the commission of inquiry. The TRC''s genius, he contends, is its innovative adaptation of colonial law, sovereignty, and government. However, if the TRC''s origins are forgotten, the very enterprise intended to overturn the jurisprudence of colonial rule may perpetuate it. Sitze proposes a provocative new means by which South Africa''s Truth and Reconciliation Commission should be understood and evaluated. See more