REVIVAL OF TRADITION IN THE ERA OF GLOBAL THERAPEUTIC GOVERNANCE: THE CASE OF ICC INTERVENTION IN THE SITUATION IN NORTHERN UGANDA

Abstract

The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its investigation into the situation in northern Uganda in January 2004. Controversy ensued as to whether so-called Acholi traditional justice or the ICC would be more appropriate to handle the crimes committed during the confl ict. In the course of the debates on this matter, it has widely been stated that Acholi traditional justice is restorative, while ICC justice is retributive. This paper shows that such a narrative is not necessarily self-evident. The paper also examines the complex process through which various local and outside agencies sought to revive Acholi tradition after the mid 1990s, leading to the development of the above narrative. Such an examination reveals the competing visions of governance that have been at work behind the revival. In the course of this revival, outside agencies have projected their conception of the self upon the Acholi people and their vision of therapeutic governance upon Acholi tradition. However, this vision of governance is not necessarily shared by all Acholi proponents of their “tradition” who have cooperated with outside agencies. Rather, the therapeutic paradigm of governance seems to have been (re)interpreted and utilized by various Acholi actors who have held differing and, at times, hybrid worldviews.