Reparations and the Human

In Reparations and the Human, David L. Eng brings together psychoanalytic theory, legal history, and political thought to interrogate how reparations shape conceptions of humanity after atrocity.

He examines twentieth-century events such as the Holocaust and atomic bombings to show how reparative frameworks emerge and operate within international law and politics.

The book explores paradoxes of apology, responsibility, and the production of victims and perpetrators, drawing on thinkers from Locke to Derrida and Klein.

Eng argues for rethinking reparation not merely as monetary compensation but as a relational and ethical practice that can alter political subjectivities.

The work engages debates on sovereignty, colonialism, and the limits of juridical redress.