Informers Up Close

In Informers Up Close, Drumbl and Holá vividly humanize the castigated figure of the informer. This book is essential reading for scholars of transitional justice as it brilliantly opens up new pathways for the pursuit of reconciliation and rehabilitation. * Colleen Murphy, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign *
Drumbl and Holá offer a deep understanding of the shifting emotions among informers, or 'victims who victimize', and their handlers. Informers Up Close treats this contentious subject with tenderness and humanity. * Leigh A Payne, University of Oxford *
The stories of informers in this insightful book confirm their motives and emotions as manifold. Informing reflects the complexity of life in Communist Czechoslovakia. * Jirí Pribán, Cardiff University *
Informers Up Close provides an intimate look into the motivations, loyalties, material incentives, and political rationales surrounding decisions to inform in Communist Czechoslovakia. Bringing informer files to life, this book humanizes informers while forcing us to consider the lingering damage wrought on societal trust. * Cynthia Horne, Professor, Western Washington University *
Who are individuals who inform to authorities on their fellow citizens? Responsible citizens? Self-absorbed betrayers? Using Communist Czechoslovakia as a case study, the book provides a nuanced answer. It reveals informers as a diverse group of individuals driven by emotions such as fear, resentment, desire, and loyalty. The book is based on solid theoretical grounding in the area studies literature, and on thorough archival research. And while it delves into the situation in one country, it recalls time and again that informers are not specific to any region, political regime, or historical period, but are always here, always there, everywhere. So it is high time to learn more about them from a book which has been long overdue. * Veronika Bílková, Professor of International Law, Faculty of Law, Charles University in Prague *
The very word 'informers' generates both unease and fascination, and reckoning with the legacy of informing is one of the most important and intricate tasks of societies emerging from authoritarianism or conflict. Drumbl and Holá make a major contribution to our understanding of both why people turn informers and how societies do and should address the consequences. Deftly combining intimate life stories with broader theoretical and historical analysis, Informers Up Close focuses on the Czech case and brings it to life with original and resourceful empirical analysis and compelling prose, as well as opening up significant questions and insights that will be applicable also in many other cases, and should be of interest to readers from a variety of fields. * Ron Dudai, Author of Penalty in the Underground: The IRA's Pursuit of Informers *
By looking at collaborators with secret police, Drumbl and Holá fill a notable gap in the studies of transitional justice. Informers Up Close provides a fascinating qualitative study of dilemmas faced by ordinary and not so ordinary people in authoritarian regimes. * Roman David, Professor, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University, Hong Kong *
Mark Drumbl and Barbora Holá's new book 'Informers Up Close' is a beautifully written, riveting read and first-rate scholarship. * Patryk I. Labuda, Central European University, Vienna *
Informers Up Close is a cutting-edge and inspiring book that reimagines informers and fosters novel accountability measures for their past actions. Informers suffered resentment, they were ostracized, but transitional justice was too politicized to fairly consider the poignant reality of informing life. In light of the ubiquity of informing, this book offers a blueprint to reinvigorate transitional justice interventions in the future. * Dr. Jean Chrysostome K. Kiyala, International Centre of Nonviolence, Durban University of Technology *
This meticulously researched and thought-provoking work is essential reading foranyone seeking to understand the complex interplay between power, control, andindividual agency in (pre-)authoritarian societies. Drumbl and Holá's compellinganalysis challenges readers to move beyond binary moral judgments, encouraging amore sophisticated engagement with the legacies of repression. By shedding light onthe intricate mechanisms of coercion, survival, and complicity, Informers Up Close notonly deepens our understanding of historical authoritarian regimes but also serves asa cautionary reflection on contemporary and future societies grappling with issues of political violence, social fragmentation, and moral ambiguities. * Mirza Buljubašić, East European Politics *
From a formal perspective, the book is masterful. It is well-structured, clearly written, and engaging. As a reader who appreciates clarity, I was particularly drawn to the succinct and informative introduction...[T]he stories presented in this book are both novel and deeply resonant. * Karolina Kremens, International Criminal Law Review *
Mark Drumbl and Barbora Holá have written an intriguing book - and a valuable one. * Timothy William Waters, Journal of International Criminal Justice *
Informers Up Close provides insight into how law and society should speak to, with, and about informers. In addition, this is, simply, a beautifully written book. Academic jargon is replaced with attention to literary rhythm and flow, playful yet gracious and respectful of the stories retold and the people represented through them. * Kjersti Lohne, Law & Social Inquiry *
Drumbl and Holá are to be highly commended for this work. In its absorbing and detailed illumination of informing in Communist Czechoslovakia and the reasons why informers informed, this book has made an invaluable addition to the literature and to our understanding of a perennial practicethat is widely known but not always fully understood. * Shane Darcy, Australian Journal of Human Rights *
Mark Drumbl and Barbora Holá's Informers Up Close offers a micro-level, socio-legal analysis of the human cost of these processes, questioning the imperative of total transparency. * Juan Espíndola, The International Journal of Transitional Justice *