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The Role of Trust in Conflict Resolution pp 59–80Cite as

Determinants of Post-conflict Trust: The Role of Ethnic Identity, Personal and Collective Victimization and Intergroup Emotions

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Part of the book series: Peace Psychology Book Series ((PPBS))

Abstract

Intergroup conflict is the strongest form of in-group identity threat that violates intergroup trust intensely and with long-term consequences. This is especially true if the conflict happens within a community where currently antagonized sides lived peacefully and harmoniously before the conflict. In such circumstances, intergroup conflict is an ultimate form of violation of trust. In this chapter, we discuss determinants of post-conflict trust, by using empirical data collected in the war-torn community of the city of Vukovar, Croatia. We analyzed how the war experiences of two major ethnic communities—Croats and Serbs—have shaped their post-conflict interethnic trust. We hypothesized that individual and collective trauma would be important predictors of the post-conflict intergroup (dis)trust, together with the strength of ethnic identity around which formerly antagonized groups continue to build their social living. Furthermore, we also assumed that specific emotional responses toward an out-group, both positive and negative, would additionally contribute in explaining post-conflict intergroup trust. Our results showed that intergroup emotions were the most important predictors of trust. In discussing the findings, we acknowledge how differences in war experiences of the two groups have determined their post-conflict trust and we address the possibilities for improving the intergroup relations.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    I am grateful to my college Professor Dean Ajdukovic for providing these data.

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Acknowledgments

The preparation of this manuscript was supported by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, grant no. 130-1301422-1418.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Dinka Corkalo Biruski

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  1. Dinka Corkalo Biruski
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Correspondence to Dinka Corkalo Biruski .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Ilai Alon

  2. School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Daniel Bar-Tal

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Corkalo Biruski, D. (2016). Determinants of Post-conflict Trust: The Role of Ethnic Identity, Personal and Collective Victimization and Intergroup Emotions. In: Alon, I., Bar-Tal, D. (eds) The Role of Trust in Conflict Resolution. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43355-4_5

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