The Norwegian TRC: Truth, Reconciliation, and Public Engagement

Abstract

In 2018, the Norwegian Parliament appointed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate the Norwegianisation policy and injustice against the Sámi and Kven/Norwegian Finns. We focus on the commission’s public engagement, and emphasise Sámi and Kven/Norwegian Finns’ perceptions and expectations in relation to these efforts. The mandate’s goal is to establish a common understanding of the past and broader knowledge about our common history. We ask how the Norwegian trc made use of the scope of action provided by its mandate’s outreach elements and conclude that there is a discrepancy between the expectations arising from the mandate and the actual public engagement of the commission. We distinguish between the interactive processes of coordinating among policy actors and communication between political actors; and ‘micro-truth’ as personal narratives and ‘macro-truth’ as framework for public structures. The research is based on document studies, the study of recorded open meetings and media, and interviews.