ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the methodological task. In order to assess whether the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has contributed to inter-ethnic reconciliation in Bosnia-Hercegovina (BiH), Croatia and Kosovo, it is necessary to define reconciliation, to operationalize the concept and finally to develop a model for assessing the Tribunal's impact on inter-ethnic relations. Reconciliation, to reiterate, is about relationships. When 'thickly' defined, however, it is not simply about improving those relationships at a functional level, but about re-building them at a much deeper level. Starting with the work of Long and Brecke, these authors draw a key distinction between reconciliation, defined as 'mutually conciliatory accommodation between former antagonists', and what they term 'reconciliation events'. Justice therefore provides a useful criterion for measuring the ICTY's contribution to reconciliation. The ICTY itself has underscored the relationship between its trials, truth and reconciliation.
