University Calendar

The Department of Justice Studies and Pomona College present a guest lecture by a former U.S. diplomat who served at the U.S. Consulate General in Basrah, Iraq.

• Title: “What Kind of Justice do Iraqis Want?”
• Lecturer: Dr. Mietek Boduszynski, Assistant Professor, Pomona College
• Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2016 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm
• Location: Dickson Hall, Room 175
• Download the flier

During 2015-2016 Dr. Boduszynski was a Political Counselor at the US Consulate General in Basrah, Iraq, overseeing the regional transition process and working closely with local political parties and civil society organizations. Back in the US, he shares his experience seeking to answer a crucial question: What kind of justice do Iraqis seek to deal with their violent past?

Decades of abuses under different political regimes and the weakness of Iraqi institutions mean that state-centered approaches to deal with the past, so called transitional justice mechanisms, are nearly impossible to implement in the near term. The corrupt and dysfunctional Iraqi state, in fact, has been the center of the problem, which is why Iraqis have protested for change in large numbers over the past year. Dr. Boduszynski will discuss the failure of the Iraqi state to provide not only justice, but also basic public goods like clean water, electricity, and security, and discuss alternative spaces and mechanisms for Iraqis to face the past while dealing with the present.