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The Politics of Victimhood in Post-conflict SocietiesThe Uses of Suffering: Victims as Moral Beacons or Icons of Grievance

The Politics of Victimhood in Post-conflict Societies: The Uses of Suffering: Victims as Moral... [This chapter considers the suffering caused by war as a distinct phenomenon from victim identity, and the emotional labour of managing suffering. It examines the relationship between suffering and victimhood and how victims themselves, or others, relying on the suffering of victims, use the victim status in the political arena to call for continued war, reparations, justice or retribution. Victim identity is a co-production of the individual and their social and political environment, and depends on the sufferer having a ‘grievable life’ (Butler). In addition, the establishment and maintenance of a victim identity depends on the ability to sustain a victim narrative. Where the suffering ‘other’ is dehumanised and their life is not considered grievable, then a politics of compassion is precluded. Thus the politics of victimhood becomes configured into the continuation of conflict.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

The Politics of Victimhood in Post-conflict SocietiesThe Uses of Suffering: Victims as Moral Beacons or Icons of Grievance

Part of the St Antony's Series Book Series
Editors: Druliolle, Vincent; Brett, Roddy
Breen-Smyth, Marie
The Politics of Victimhood in Post-conflict Societies — Feb 21, 2018
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25 pages

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References (23)

Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
ISBN
978-3-319-70201-8
Pages
211 –236
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-70202-5_9
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[This chapter considers the suffering caused by war as a distinct phenomenon from victim identity, and the emotional labour of managing suffering. It examines the relationship between suffering and victimhood and how victims themselves, or others, relying on the suffering of victims, use the victim status in the political arena to call for continued war, reparations, justice or retribution. Victim identity is a co-production of the individual and their social and political environment, and depends on the sufferer having a ‘grievable life’ (Butler). In addition, the establishment and maintenance of a victim identity depends on the ability to sustain a victim narrative. Where the suffering ‘other’ is dehumanised and their life is not considered grievable, then a politics of compassion is precluded. Thus the politics of victimhood becomes configured into the continuation of conflict.]

Published: Feb 21, 2018

Keywords: Emotional labour; Grievability; Grievance; Identity; Suffering; Victim

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