Dr Roman David
Lecturer in Politics
- Email: roman.david@ncl.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)191 222 7743
- Address: Politics
40-42 Great North Road
University of Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
My research specialization is comparative transitional justice. I study various ways of how divided societies deal with legacies of repressive regimes, wars, civil wars and massive human rights violations. In particular, I examine lustration policies in Central Europe, reparation of victims in the Czech Republic and South Africa, and apology diplomacy between Japan and its neighbors.
Research Interests
transitional justice (lustration systems, reparation programmes, international trials, apology diplomacy), democratization, human rights, comparative government and politics, Central Europe, East Asia, South Africa
Current Work
I am currently completing my monograph on lustrations. Based on my previous articles, the book proposes the concept of lustration systems and their classification into the exclusive, the inclusive, and the reconciliatory systems. It proposes the transformative theory of transitional justice and hypothesizes that these systems generate diverging political and social effects. The hypotheses are tested by means of survey experiments conducted in the Czech republic, Hungary, and Poland.
Selected Publications
- David R; Choi SYP. Getting Even, or Getting Equal? Retributive Desires and Transitional Justice. Political Psychology 2009, 30(2), 161-192.
- David R; Choi SYP. Forgiveness and transitional justice in the Czech Republic. Journal of Conflict Resolution 2006, 50(3), 339-367.
- David R. From Prague to Baghdad: Lustration systems and their political effects. Government and Opposition 2006, 41(3), 347-372.
- David R; Holliday I. Set the Junta free: Pre-transitional justice in Myanmar’s democratization. Australian Journal of Political Science 2006, 41(1), 91-105.
- David R. In exchange for truth: The Polish lustration & the South African amnesty process. Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies 2006, 32(1), 81-99.
- David R; Choi SYP. Victims on transitional justice: lessons from the reparation of human rights abuses in the Czech Republic. Human Rights Quarterly 2005, 27(2), 392-435.
Projects
- The Utility of Transitional Justice in the Czech Republic
Project Leaders: Dr Roman David
Future Research
My next monograph concerns retributive attitudes. Based on my previous articles, the book outlines an alternative perspective on political crime and responses to it. It proposes a distributive theory of transitional justice and utilizes my research conducted in Central Europe, South East Europe, South Africa, and East Asia.
Postgraduate Supervision
I am happy to supervise students in the following areas: comparative politics, democratization, and transitional justice (lustrations, reparations, truth commissions, international courts; revenge, apology, forgiveness, and reconciliation).
Esteem Indicators
I was invited to serve as an academic referee for International Journal of Transitional Justice, Journal of Politics, Journal of Historical Sociology, Law and Society Review, Law and Social Inquiry, Comparative Political Studies, Ethics and International Affairs, Political Research Quarterly, and Journal of Peace Research.
Funding
2005 – 2007 United States Institute of Peace, “Social Effects of Lustration Systems” (Principal Investigator) (with Susanne YP Choi, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Christopher Roederer, Florida Coastal School of Law, and Marketa Moore, City University of Hong Kong).
Qualifications
PhD in political science (1997), Masaryk University, Brno.
Previous Positions
I held positions at various universities, including Yale University (postdoc), City University of Hong Kong (research), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (postdoc); University of Oxford, Nuffield College (visiting); Masaryk University, Brno, Dept of Philosophy & Civics (lecturer).
Memberships
American Political Science Association, Law & Society Association
Undergraduate Teaching
POL1018 Studying Politics I: Study Skills and Techniques, and Theories of the State (module leader)
POL3087 Democratization in Central Europe 1989-2004 (module leader)
Postgraduate Teaching
POL8037 Transitional Justice (module leader)
POL8038 Doing Political Research (module leader)
HSS8005 Quantitative Methods