Varieties of Truth Commissions

The Varieties of Truth Commissions is a series of datasets that jointly capture: (1) the universe of national-level truth commissions, (2) their mandates and investigative powers, (3) their recommendations, and (4) levels of implementation across recommendations. The Varieties of Truth Commissions identifies 84 truth commissions established in transitional and non-transitional political contexts between 1970 and 2018. Data on mandates and investigative powers are available for 74 commissions. Data on recommendations are available for 55 commissions. Data on implementation of recommendations are available for Guatemala, South Africa, and Timor-Leste. Governing Truth: NGOs and the Politics of Transitional Justice leverages these data to explain variation in truth commission adoption, design, and implementation and follow-up around the world. The book and its online appendix are available from Oxford University Press. Any updates to the Varieties of Truth Commissions will be published online at dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/zvobgo.