Memory, Trauma and Transitional Justice in Ukraine

From July 17 to 18, 2025, the Kyiv School of Economics hosted a forum bringing together academics, artists, researchers, practitioners, and civil society representatives to explore what justice means within the current context of Ukraine.

Together, we wanted to answer three core questions:

• What should transitional justice look like in Ukraine?
• How can we focus on TJ for trauma response?
• What is the role of the arts in this?

As Ukrainian academic and policy communities are increasingly engaging with the idea of transitional justice—despite the ongoing nature of the war—there is a growing need to critically reflect on what transitional justice can, and should, mean for Ukraine. As current global discourse seems to sideline Ukraine’s own agency and perspectives, we believe it is important to articulate a clear position on this question before external institutions and states impose their idea of justice.

Participants took part in discussions centered on shaping the future of transitional justice in Ukraine, considering its unique social, political, and historical context. A key aim was to identify effective strategies for integrating trauma response into transitional justice processes. The forum also explored how artistic practices can contribute to reconciliation, memory, and societal healing.

Program

Current discussions tend to focus on institutional and legal mechanisms—both domestic and international—and seem often to replicate models created to respond to conflicts elsewhere. Yet global experience shows that standard transitional justice frameworks often fall short in addressing the deeper causes of conflict or in enabling long-term social recovery. Part one of the workshop therefore examined what lessons can be drawn from global experiences of transitional justice, and how—or whether—these lessons are being applied in Ukraine.

“Discussions around Transitional Justice in Ukraine are increasing in intensity. Drawing on models and forms of justice used elsewhere, a relatively predictable framework is being created which centres on liberal statebuilding and judicial processes at a domestic and international level. Through these models particular forms of harms are brought to the fore (largely those captured by humanitarian law), and others ignored.

Yet, we know from other examples from across the globe and throughout history that this traditional model of TJ is inadequate. This frequently fails to address underlying causes of conflict and fails to transform societies along emancipatory lines. In the wake of this failure, other contexts (such as the Former Yugoslavia) have increasingly turned to other types of practice, including the arts.”, — Henry Redwood, KCL.

In response to these challenges, the arts are often used to ‘fill in’ for some of these shortfalls. Part two of the forum explored the role of the arts—what it is, and what it could be—both in Ukraine and globally. Current global approaches such as positive propaganda or the glorification of masculine heroism can deepen fragmentation, division, and dissociation in communities, fueling violence and intolerance. What if, instead, the arts were given a more prominent role in supporting wellbeing? And what if they were recognized not only as a supplement to failing interventions, but as a crucial form of trauma recovery in their own right? Building on the wide range of cultural practices in Ukraine that already play a vital role in resisting Russia’s war of aggression, this part of the workshop reflected on what an ‘art of transitional justice’ might look like in practice—and how it can respond to growing fragmentation and anxiety.

Key questions:

• What forms of harm are overlooked by traditional legal processes—and how can they be made visible?
• What lessons can be learned from other contexts (e.g., the Balkans) to avoid repeating systemic mistakes?
• How can art interact with other approaches to transitional justice? What are trauma-informed art practices and broad community-focused methods that can contribute to community wellbeing?
• What tools of memory, artistic practices, or local initiatives are already at work in Ukraine—and how can they be supported?
• What should transitional justice look like in Ukraine? What is the role of arts? 
• Should we even be talking about transitional justice, or something else?
  

The forum was implemented in partnership with King’s College London, NGO Art Dot, and the Kyiv School of Economics, with the participation of Cultural Forces of Ukraine—a platform bringing together the military, artists, and businesses to support the mental health of Ukraine’s Defense Forces, foster civil-military cooperation, and advance cultural diplomacy.

Project curators: Veronika Skliarova, Halyna Hleba, Henry Redwood.