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Facing the Violent Past: Discussions with Serbia's Youth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Maryanne Yerkes
Maryanne Yerkes*
Affiliation:
At the time of writing this paper she was David L. Boren Fellow 2001-2002, National Security Education Program for Educational Development, [email protected]
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Extract

As nations emerge from repressive regimes and societies begin to rebuild following violent intranational conflict, the notion of “facing the past” has become an increasingly important and pressing issue. How should new regimes address the crimes of their predecessors? How should societies deal with individuals who committed grave crimes against humanity? Who should be held responsible for what happened during the dark periods of violence and war?

Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 32 , Issue 4 , December 2004 , pp. 921 - 938
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 Association for the Study of Nationalities of Eastern Europe 

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References

Notes

1. Carla Hesse and Robert Post, eds, Human Rights in Political Transitions: Gettysburg to Bosnia (New York: Zone Books, 1999), p. 20.Google Scholar

2. This number does not represent the total number of interviews conducted. I also interviewed people outside of Belgrade and in other parts of the former Yugoslavia; however, I did not include these interviews in the analysis presented in the present article.Google Scholar

3. NGO Policy Group, Third Sector in Serbia: Status and Prospects (Belgrade: Center for the Development of the Non-profit Sector and the NGO Policy Group, 2001), p. 16.Google Scholar

4. Ibid., 29.Google Scholar

5. Ibid.Google Scholar

6. See John E. Mack, “The Enemy System,” in Vamik D. Volkan, Demetrios A. Julius and Joseph V. Montville, eds, Psychodynamics of International Relationships, Volume I: Concepts and Theories (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1990), pp. 57–69. See also Ervin Staub, The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989).Google Scholar

7. Rafael Moses, “Self, Self-View, and Identity,” in Vamik D. Volkan, Demetrios A. Julius and Joseph V. Montville, eds, Psychodynamics of International Relationships, Volume I: Concepts and Theories (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1990), pp. 47–55.Google Scholar

8. See Cynthia Sampson, Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Claudia Liebler and Diana Whitney, eds, Positive Approaches to Peacebuilding: A Resource for Innovators (Washington, DC: PACT, 2003).Google Scholar

9. Moses, “Self, Self-View, and Identity,” 53.Google Scholar

10. These points are backed by numerous interviews in which people either identified themselves as victims of larger processes and powers (not in the sense of being a direct victim of a particular incident) or spoke about the prevailing sense of victimhood in Serbian society.Google Scholar

11. Vamik Volkan's concept of “chosen traumas” is relevant here. According to him, “[chosen traumas] are powerful experiences of loss and feelings of humiliation, vengeance, and hatred that trigger a variety of unconscious defense mechanisms that attempt to reverse these experiences and feelings” (Vamik Volkan, Bloodlines: From Ethnic Pride to Ethnic Terrorism . (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1997), pp. 82–84).Google Scholar

12. Vamik D. Volkan, The Need to Have Enemies and Allies: From Clinical Practice to International Relationships (Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1988).Google Scholar