ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the existing comparative and theoretical academic literature that has developed to understand patterns of transitional justice and truth revelation in post-communist states. It shows how approaches to explaining the extent and recurrence of ‘late’ lustration and communist security service file access in countries such as Poland often divide into those that focus on elite instrumental, electoral-strategic drivers, and others who argue that the motives for pursuing transitional justice and truth revelation were more ideologically and programmatically driven.
