All Aboard the Truth Bandwagon: An Examination of our Fascination with Truth Commissions

The increasing use and popularity of the truth commission coincides with an increasing interest in the study of transitional justice in general. Authors, politicians, and peace practitioners alike are all interested in learning how we can help societies wracked by gross human rights abuses and reconcile with their pasts with the ultimate goal of preventing future atrocities. Given the relative newness of the truth commission as a transitional justice option, there is much to study. one area of study that lacks attention rests with the idea itself: Why has the truth commission gone from a non-existent transitional justice mechanism to an accepted one so quickly? This paper opens discussion on this issue by examining possible reasons truth commissions have become so popular.