The following contribution to Justice in Conflict’s ongoing symposium was written by Emma J Breeze, Assistant Professor in international criminal law and international humanitarian law at the University of Birmingham. For all of the other submissions, please see here.

Mark Drumbl and Barbora Holá’s Informers Up Close challenges readers to reflect upon themselves through the narratives of the informers of Czechoslovakia during the Communist period (1948-1989). A ubiquitous theme in transitional justice, international criminal law, and legal or other formalised processes that take place before, during and after conflict is dealing with the ‘other’: the vanquished, the victor, the abandoned, the good guy and/or the bad guy. By delving into the State Security Police (StB) archives, Drumbl and Holá bring to life the stories of those who acted as ‘everyday informers’ during the communist-era of Czechoslovakia. In doing so, they challenge the reader to see beyond the label and to see the ‘other’. Far from monolithic and from the ‘vile toxins’ dangerous to the new order, these individuals present a complex picture of humanity. If we were to try and sum up these everyday informers, we could say that their primary commonality is their humanity, the intrinsic aspects of the human condition that make up all of us. 

With compassion, Drumbl and Holá present the findings of their archival study. They clearly show how Czechoslovakia’s transitional justice mechanisms failed to truly reflect the nature of informing – i.e., the ‘(e)motions’ presented by the everyday informers, in other words the various motivations that underscored their actions and decisions to inform and on what they chose to disclose. These mechanisms did so by treating informers as a monolithic group, dangerous to ‘the new liberal democracy’. This led to prosecutions, exclusions, lustrations, ostracizations, while the demands for retribution and rehabilitation have been articulated in a largely blanket fashion to those who informed the State Security Secret Police (StB). These actions, based on the ideological and political drivers perceived to be the motivating force of everyday informers, is shown by Drumbl and Holá to be wholly inaccurate. Further, the transparency mantra of transitional justice has, in this case, seen the release of all the files held by the Secret Police (StB) to the public.  

The book views this release as a form of cruelty which is inflicted on the informers by making their indiscretions and actions public. It also discusses how the release of files have affected their families, friends and indeed those who were informed upon. The files are described as being filled with notes, comments and details of a personal nature, and whilst the completeness of the information remains in doubt, the impact of these narratives can be deeply distressing for those implicated and their families. This reveals an interesting contrast to the ‘stool pigeons’ operated by the British MI9 during WWII. These individuals, recruited for their language skills, were placed in cells with prisoners of war to gain information on German operations, to play the role of confidante and friend. To this day the stories and identities of these ‘stool pigeons’ remain hidden, whether classified or lost to time. Secrecy has protected those concerned and their families. One wonders if, given the nature of their work for the ‘victors’, these recruited ‘stool pigeons’ would have been treated more as war heroes. In contrast to the Czech informers, these potential ‘heroes’ may have desired greater transparency so that their efforts in the service of the state could be recognised.

The disparity of hero versus villain is reflected in the book. The authors ask what just or unjust informing looks like. Is it the betrayal of informing or the cause for which someone informs that raises the justification or abhorrence? The authors address this through ‘selective cause-justness’ and reflect upon trends in international law such as Just War theory and the freedom fighter vs terrorist contradistinction. They suggest that while the “justness of a cause seems to operate as a barometer of acceptability”, this runs counter to the modernising efforts within international law more broadly, perhaps casting the role of informers as counter to the current trend. Again, the nuance and humanity of the informers is front and centre, with readers asked to reflect upon on their own actions in life; saying “well, we will just say it, indeed, all of us – has informed, betrayed, or gossiped on someone to authorities.” The comfortable ‘other’ of international criminal trials is removed at a stroke, making this a work of great heart and one that highlights the challenge of moving away from the rigidity of legal and formal processes.

Whilst uncovering details of informers in the specific regime of communist Czechoslovakia, the book has far greater significance. By understanding the stories it tells, we can gain greater insight into contemporary situations, and the (e)motions driving everyday informers in modern conflicts. This has value beyond consideration of transitional justice mechanisms. For example, parallels can be drawn to the role of human intelligence (HUMINT) during armed conflict. Although it has been argued that information is increasingly gleaned from technological sources, there remains a significant role for the human informer during conflict. As Ferris comments: “Beneath the debate on intelligence is an inchoate struggle between emphasis on humans and reliance on machines.” This struggle manifested during the war in Afghanistan where cutting-edge technology was found flawed in dispelling the fog of war. Human sources were routinely used by the International Security Assistance Force mission but were proven to be notoriously unreliable. Some informers gave incorrect information to settle a personal feud or were purely driven by monetary reward; others simply wanted to undermine the West. These (e)motions are reflected in the stories presented by Drumbl and Holá of Czech informers, demonstrating the value of understanding this past such that it can inform decision-makers and those seeking information. 

The insight brought to light by Drumbl and Holá also leads one to question how states have treated informers post-withdrawal from Afghanistan, as the transitional justice mechanisms previously addressed Czech informers. Within Afghanistan, former interpreters who carried out myriad other tasks, including informing for western forces, were treated as traitors to their community, with significant repercussions to themselves and to their families. In contrast, these same individuals have been cast in a heroic role by western states, with schemes in place to relocate them to ‘safe’ countries. Whether treated as hero or villain  these interpreters or informers, tend to be treated as a collective with the nuance and (e)motions of each individual being lost to these wider political and societal themes. Again, we return to the core of the book, the nuance of the informers and the fallibility of the human condition, the desires, needs, circumstances and context that affects all of us. Nonetheless, the strength of human informers in providing context and details that technology is insensitive to remains vital. To that end, the book makes an immense contribution to scholarship in this area, allowing the stories of the past to be heard while calling for a more ‘humanized inquiry’ into post-conflict and transitional spaces.