The project specifically studies the role of cultural, political/legal, and religious actors in the construction of narratives that lead to polarisation and/or transformation of post-conflict generations. It focuses on four contexts with recent major societal transitions towards reconciliation and/or democracy, which showed quite ambivalent results: Colombia, South Africa, Indonesia, and the Post-Yugoslav countries. The four contexts are deliberately chosen to represent four different continents, markedly different religio-political configurations, different types of conflict and violence, and they are in different stages of transition.

Narratives of the conflicts in these four cases are constructed and transmitted by public actors and in public (media) discourse. In all the contexts, religious actors contribute to the formation of these narratives, sometimes contradicting the political powers, sometimes supporting them. These narratives are appropriated (received and refigured) by the post-conflict generation.

By polarisation we mean the construction of oppositional identities, which are apparent in divisive public discourses by elite actors and/or continued or increased residential or educational segregation, among other factors. By transformation we mean re-formulations of identities, narratives, and social and political structures in ways that challenge or transcend oppositional identities. In the four contexts both state-led processes and grassroots projects (sometimes including, sometimes excluding religious actors and communities) have been implemented to promote healing and reconciliation, juxtaposed with efforts by political, cultural, and religious leaders to produce oppositional and divisive discourses.

The project applies cross-cultural analysis in an innovative mixed-method´s design that will allow to unravel the full narrative process of construction, transmission, and appropriation. In each of the four case studies, the project will collect and analyse narratives of historical reconstruction in schoolbook texts and public media, and interview religious, political, cultural, and community leaders.

These narratives will be compared with the narratives of the younger generation, since their future is shaped by these narratives and they have to adopt or dismiss the narratives of their “parents”. The project will compare groups of young people with a history at different sides of the conflict line and analyse their exchanges.

Research team: Prof. Dr. Eddy van den Borght, Prof. Dr. Fernando Enns, Prof. Dr. Ruard Ganzevoort & Dr. Srdjan Sremac