Transitional justice: lustration and vetting in Ukraine and Georgia

Abstract

Many of the world's conflicts today are self-sustaining and ongoing, making the application of transitional justice measures difficult. Particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, namely Georgia and Ukraine, both of which have experienced regime changes in the twenty-first century and implemented lustration and vetting measures - the question of whether or not transitional justice will be successfully utilized is very much still under debate. My research explores the relationship between lustration and vetting policies and corruption in Ukraine and Georgia. Past studies of corruption in these countries have focused the extent of state exploitation of the forms through which corruption is expressed such as political appointments, and protection from prosecution. This research, by contrast, aims to study the relationship that corruption has with the particular transitional justice measure of lustration and vetting.