Narratives after the Bosnian War : Competition for Victimhood

• My goal with this article is to analyze the retold experiences of 27 survivors of the 1990s war in northwestern Bosnia. I focus on describing the informants’ portrayal of “victimhood” as a social phenomenon as well as analyzing those discoursive patterns which contributed in constructing the category “victim”. When, after the war, different actors claim this “victim” status, it sparks a competition for victimhood. All informants are eager to present themselves as victims while at the same time the other categories’ victim status are downplayed. In this reproduction of competition for the victim role, all demarcations that were played out so successfully during the war live on.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

war

crime

victimhood

victim

perpetrator

sociology

sociologi

Samhällsvetenskap

Social Sciences

Freds- och utvecklingsstudier

Peace and Development Studies

Kriminologi

Criminology

Socialt arbete

Social Work

Socialpsykologi

Social Psychology

Sociology

Sociologi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)