David Backer is a post-doctoral Fellow (Ph.D. Michigan) at CDDRL. His dissertation project was an evaluation of the impact of participation by victims in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). He is extending this research by comparing attitudes of victims and the general public, as well as conducting a longitudinal study of victims' attitudes about reparations. In addition, he is undertaking a parallel study of victims' responses to the truth commission processes in Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

In another project, Backer looks at modes of transitional justice around the world and their effects on political development including regime stability, human rights practices, inter-group conflict, political violence and rates of violent crime.