Collective Victimhood and Conflict-Related Attitudes: A Meta-Analysis

• In Event: Measurement of Conflict Processes

Abstract

Collective victimhood pervades political discourse around the world. Nationalist myths appeal to a people's past or ongoing victimhood to justify the nationalist struggle. Populists routinely invoke a sense of collective victimhood to mobilize support and consolidate power and social movements appeal to narratives of collective victimization to advance their claims. Competition over victimhood status also persistently defines politics in conflict and post-conflict societies as varied as Northern Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Israel, Palestine, Rwanda, and Spain. Reviewing over two decades of research, this study presents the first pre-registered meta-analysis of the impact of collective victimhood on conflict-related outcomes. Examining 1514 estimates from 139 studies, we assess the impact of victimhood on four conflict-related attitudes (hawkishness, attitudes towards current or former adversaries (reconciliation), attitudes towards groups with which one is not in direct conflict (outgroup exclusion), and in-group attachment) and on conflict-related emotions and cognitive perspectives. We find that collective victimhood is associated with greater conflict-enhancing attitudes, distancing emotions and distancing perspectives, though "inclusive" victimhood generally has opposing effects. These results are consistent across a wide range of geographic contexts, types of conflict experiences, and identities. Methodologically, we identify consistent differences in the effect sizes found by observational and experimental studies and address the potential presence of publication bias in this field. In the conclusion, we lay out new directions for future research on collective victimhood.

Authors

• Nadav G. Shelef, University of Wisconsin, Madison

• Marko Kljajic, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Ethan vanderWilden, University of Wisconsin - Madison