Can postconflict states achieve both peace and justice as they deal with a traumatic past? What role does reconciliation play in healing wounds, building trust, and rectifying injustices? This provocative book, incorporating the frameworks of both peace/conflict studies and transitional justice, explores the core challenges that war-torn states confront once the violence has ended.

The book is organized around a series of questions, each one the subject of a chapter, with each chapter presenting a wide range of practical examples and case studies. The author also stakes out a position on each question, encouraging readers to evaluate and respond to ideas, practices, and strategies. Narratives are a notable feature of the work, with the human consequences of war and peace highlighted throughout.