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Victimhood in the Politics of Memory and Transitional Justice

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Book cover Constructions of Victimhood

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Cultural Heritage and Conflict ((PSCHC))

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Abstract

This chapter considers in greater depth the function of victimhood in the politics of memory and in transitional justice. It proposes that victimhood is a category that is subject to multiple constructions by different social systems and that Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory provides a suitable theoretical framework for understanding such competing constructions and the interaction of the relevant systems around this topic. The chapter considers the role of the political system in the construction of victimhood and argues that victims’ organizations can be best understood as organizations of the system of protest that seek to secure recognition for their members. In communicating about the situation of their members, however, victims’ organizations are caught between the need to be heard by the political system and the need to maintain a moralized protest communication that maintains the mobilization of their members.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Modern Languages, Cardiff University, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, UK

    David Clarke

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Clarke, D. (2019). Victimhood in the Politics of Memory and Transitional Justice. In: Constructions of Victimhood. Palgrave Studies in Cultural Heritage and Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04804-4_2

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