ABSTRACT
Previous research has highlighted the positive contributions which political ex-prisoners have made to conflict transformation, whilst others have challenged these accounts emphasising how such roles can replicate previous power structures and may contribute towards the marginalisation of victims. The issue of criminal record expungement (CRE) embodies this tension, as criminal records represent a material and social barrier to reintegration for ex-prisoners, alongside a central pillar of retributive justice for certain victims and a deterrent against renewed violence. This chapter addresses this tension by widening the framework to consider the issue of criminal records for all offences of political expression in the post-settlement context, advancing two arguments: (1) that criminal record expungement for non-violent political offences helps facilitate conflict transformation across all levels, but the extent of this depends on whether it addresses both formal and informal criminalisation; and (2) that criminal record expungement for violent political offences may undermine conflict transformation if only formally implemented without addressing informal criminalisation. These arguments are developed through a comparative study of Northern Ireland and South Africa utilising the conflict transformation framework of structure, issue, and actor transformation.
