Community on conflict: social representations of the recent past among members of historical memory associations of Biscay (La comunidad en conflicto: representaciones sociales del pasado reciente en miembros de asociaciones de memoria histórica de Vizvaya)

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper aims to identify how the members of historical memory associations of Biscay (Spain) constructed their ‘community images’ through their social representations of the recent past. We analysed the discourse of 12 in-depth interviews with various members of six historical memory associations. The findings show that the interviewees conceptualize the community from a postmodern perspective, characterizing it in terms of diversity, mobility and interdependence. The identities that were constructed through the narratives were articulated according to ideological orientation and power differences. Power differences most strongly determine the distance between collectives and groups that appear in the narratives. These findings indicate the consequences of obscuring the debate of the recent past with political subjects without giving voice to the citizens themselves and open the way to future reflections on the psychosocial effects resulting from the lack of a shared narrative within communities.