ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that to be holistic in its transformative agenda it also needs to engage with culture and the diversity of worldviews this carries with it. It explores the influence that different systems of meaning-making had on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and on transitional justice and peacebuilding more broadly. Identity, culture and worldview are complex, dynamic and interconnected concepts. Integral to understanding identity is the culture in which it is embedded. Culture is integral to maintaining the coherency and ability of a group or society to function and survive and can contribute to exacerbating conflict. Deeply intertwined with culture, worldview is understood as the ontological and epistemological assumptions through which one’s social reality is interpreted. Nonetheless, by considering culture, more holistic approaches to transitional justice can be found, making it an imperative for the transformative justice agenda.
