「轉型正義」指的是從威權或極權體制轉型為自由民主體制的特定國家,對前體制下政府侵犯人權的案件所做的因應及處理。二十世紀末轉型正義的普世化,是二次戰後伴隨第三波民主化、後冷戰全球化潮流而來的歷史產物。轉型正義的價值內涵,是以人權規範作為正義標準;但轉型正義的角色定位,則除了保障人權、鞏固民主的普遍性目標之外,還要依循特定國家整體政經合理化的邏輯而運作,以解決其特殊的生存發展問題。這可以從西班牙、阿根廷、東德、捷克斯洛伐克、南非等第三波民主化國家的經驗得到證明。 台灣民主化之後所面臨的最大挑戰,在於被外導型威權轉型所弱化的主體性和整體性,這同時構成了實踐轉型正義的結構困境;所以,台灣威權轉型的最合理方向,就在於確立能體現主體性和整體性的「國民政經體制」。因此,轉型正義在台灣政經發展中的角色定位,除建構自由民主的正當性外,還要致力於共同體意識的培養,並協助國民政經體制的確立和運作,以維繫台灣的主體性和整體性。在台灣,轉型正義的過程,必須是一種投資「社會資本」、增進社會信任的過程,而將「審議民主」納入轉型正義的過程,則可望發揮一些正面的效果。
“Transitional justice” refers to how a country which just transformed from an authoritarian or totalitarian regime to democracy deals with the violation of human rights in the past. Since the Second World War, the universalization of transitional justice in the end of the 20th century has been the historical product along with the third wave of democratization and the post-Cold War globalization. The values of transitional justice are human rights; however, the role of transitional justice is not merely to pursue the universal goals to protect human rights and consolidate democracy, but also to follow the logic of rationalization of a specific country’s political economy in order to resolve its problems about survival and development. The above-mentioned arguments can be demonstrated in studying some of the third wave of democratization countries’ experiences, including Spain, Argentina, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and South Africa. One of the most serious challenges during Taiwan’s democratization processes is that the Taiwan’s subjectivity and wholeness were strongly softened by the external-induced authoritarian transformation, which also increased the difficulties in putting transitional justice into practice. Hence, the most rational direction of Taiwan’s authoritarian transformation is to establish “the national political economic regime” which has capacities to ensure Taiwan’s subjectivity and wholeness. Therefore, the role of transitional justice in Taiwan is to foster community’s common values and help make the national political economic regime be established to function. It is necessary for Taiwan to invest social capital and enhance social trust in the transitional justice processes; besides, there might be some positive effects if bringing deliberative democracy into the transitional justice processes.