vCardDr Roman David

Dr Roman David
Lecturer in Politics

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 tribunals, amnesty, apology diplomacy), democratization, human rights, comparative government and politics, corruption, Central Europe, East Asia, South Africa.

Current Work

I have recently completed my monograph on lustrations. Based on my previous articles, the book has proposed the concept of lustration systems and their classification into the exclusive, the inclusive, and the reconciliatory systems. It has proposed the transformative theory of transitional justice and hypothesized that these systems generate diverging political and social effects. The hypotheses have been tested by means of survey experiments conducted in the Czech republic, Hungary, and Poland.

Selected Publications

More Publications

Projects

Future Research

I am currently working on a monograph that 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

Visiting Scholar, Chinese University of Hong Kong (Spring 2010).

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

2009 – 2010 British Academy Small Research Grant on Transitional Justice

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).

2002 – 2004 Post-Doctoral Research Grant, South African National Research Foundation.

Qualifications

PhD in political science, Masaryk University, Brno.
Postdoctoral Associate, Yale University.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Previous Positions

I held positions at various universities, including City University of Hong Kong (research); Yale University; Wits University; University of Oxford, Nuffield College (visiting); Masaryk University, Brno, Dept of Philosophy & Civics (lecturer).

Memberships

American Political Science Association, Law & Society Association, International Society of Political Psychology.

Languages

Those few languages I can speak rapidly deteriorate.

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

I will be on sabbatical leave in Spring 2010.