Introduction

The introduction outlines the aims and approach of the volume, which focuses on the actors who took part in – and those who were excluded from – the first negotiations to deal with reparations in the aftermath of genocide, held in Wassenaar (Netherlands) in 1952. The volume employs a multidisciplinary perspective to outline the meanings that historical actors at that time and since then have attached to concepts and practices of repair. The introduction also reflects on the important yet contested legacies of the 1952 negotiations in various parts of the globe at different historical junctures, from the United States to Namibia and beyond.