Associate Professor, Justice Studies, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Ruti Teitel’s Revolutionary Take on Transitional Justice in the U.S.
Presidential Visions of Transitional Justice by Ruti Teitel serves as a pivotal addition to the study of transitional justice, particularly by shifting the focus from global contexts like Argentina or South Africa to the United States. Teitel illustrates that the U.S., often seen as a bastion of democracy, also navigates complexities of past injustices while envisioning a more equitable future. This reframing urges readers to perceive presidential power not merely as constitutional authority but as a dynamic moral force.
The Executive Branch as a Crucial Site for Justice
This inward focus prompts significant inquiries about how transitional justice has traditionally been viewed. Commonly linked to courts, truth commissions, and civil initiatives, Teitel’s perspective highlights the executive as a central avenue for moral accountability. By examining the presidencies of figures like Obama, Lincoln, and Washington, she delineates an “American grammar of reconciliation” characterized by recognition, restraint, and a willingness for the powerful to step down.
In her analysis, Obama’s speeches at notable sites—such as Havana and Hiroshima—are not just rhetorical flourishes but acts of lawmaking through memory. Here, language serves as a substitute for judicial systems, transforming acknowledgment itself into a powerful instrument of accountability. Teitel emphasizes that “the law is also memory,” suggesting that transitional justice necessitates a state’s readiness to engage publicly with its past.
However, this shift creates a tension that Teitel does not shy away from exploring: Can the same office responsible for drones and state secrecy genuinely engage in acts of contrition? This contradiction underscores the complexities of ethical leadership in governance.
Exploring Presidential Power in the Context of Post-9/11 Challenges
This interplay resonates in today’s context of robust debates over the breadth of presidential authority. Teitel’s work distinguishes a competing legacy within the presidency. One approach, the unitary-executive model, leverages excessive power in the name of security, while the “reckoning presidency” paradigm exemplified by Obama asserts moral accountability through crucial acts of acknowledgment and restraint.
In this light, transitional justice becomes an internal counter-tradition within the presidency—a self-limiting power that must contend with the entrenched culture of executive privilege established post-9/11. Obama’s gestures of remorse can be seen as efforts to reclaim lost moral authority. Teitel positions transitional justice not as an external process but as integral to constitutional discussions regarding executive power.
Lessons from the Founding Fathers: Washington and Self-Restraint
Teitel’s exploration extends backward from Obama to Washington, revealing an early framework for transitional justice amidst the founding struggles. Washington’s commitment to arbitration and mutual trust laid foundational principles that echo in today’s discourse on ethical governance. His voluntary exit from power serves as a model of self-restraint and accountability, contrasting sharply with more contemporary continuous campaigns for power. This reflection reveals a constitutional and moral decline from those foundational ideals.
Presidential Speech as a Method of Accountability
From a global perspective, Teitel poses essential questions on whether a hegemon can pursue transitional justice internally. Great powers often design accountability measures for others while sidestepping scrutiny for themselves. Presidential Visions of Transitional Justice suggests an alternate model of self-accountability characterized by acknowledgment and ethical leadership. Obama’s rhetoric redefines soft power as moral authority, using speeches to mend international relations without relying solely on traditional legal frameworks.
This communicative approach reinforces the utility of presidential speech in labeling historical wrongs, contributing to ethical self-limitation, and shaping national narratives of memory. However, it also exposes limitations; this self-imposed accountability lacks institutional support and is subject to reversal with shifts in political power.
Cyclical Transitions in U.S. Politics: An Unfinished Journey
In light of today’s polarized environment, Teitel’s inquiry into why the U.S. is unique gains significance. The nation appears caught in a continuous cycle of transition rather than achieving terminal reconciliation. The presidency thus functions as an ongoing site for addressing unresolved issues. This dynamic indicates that transitional justice represents not merely an end goal but an enduring struggle over accountability, memory, and power.
Imagining a Future for Ethical Statecraft
If Presidential Visions of Transitional Justice serves as both historical critique and a normative proposal, it challenges us to consider what ethical leadership can look like today. In an era marked by populist retrenchment, can presidential influence still evoke moral guidance? Or must we seek new, decentralized forms of accountability to restore justice after crises? Teitel’s work reinforces the notion that transitional justice transcends mere historical reckoning; it inspires a civic duty to listen, reflect, and cultivate a culture of accountability across all levels of governance.
Suggested citation: Arnaud Kurze, Symposium on Ruti Teitel’s Presidential Visions of Transitional Justice, Part II: Transitional Justice and the U.S. Presidency: Mapping Ideas of Statecraft, Responsibility, and the Future, Int’l J. Const. L. Blog, Mar. 26, 2026, at: https://www.iconnectblog.com/symposium-on-ruti-teitels-presidential-visions-of-transitional-justice-part-2-transitional-justice-and-the-u-s-presidency-mapping-ideas-of-statecraft-responsibility-and-the-future/
