Peering into the ‘Black Box’ of TRC Success: Exploring Local Perceptions of Reconciliation in the Solomon Islands TRC

Abstract

Despite increasing scholarship on TRCs, the way in which ‘success’ is measured and conceived of with regard to these institutions remains unclear. Focusing on the Solomon Islands TRC, we peer into the ‘black box’ of TRC success by unraveling its components to avoid an overly vague and all-encompassing conception of what a successful TRC entails and thus zero in on the ‘small’ victories, as well as pitfalls, with a specific focus on reconciliation. We analyze witness statements from the SI TRC Final Report as well as focus group interviews with nearly 100 Solomon Islanders. Our findings illustrate two themes related to reconciliation which may be relevant for understanding TRC success: the use of public hearings as a platform to ask for reconciliation between victims and perpetrators, and whether the SI TRC was relevant enough to be used for ‘real’ reconciliation in the country. Based on these findings, we argue that ‘success’ should be determined through the eyes of the local population, not the architects of these processes who are largely outsiders to the context where the TRC is created. Related to this, it is valuable to untangle the various components of reconciliation in order to more readily make space for their achievement.