Introduction: Understanding the Construction of Victimhood and the Evolving Role of Victims in Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

Abstract

The current volume analyses victims as political actors, a perspective that has been neglected by the literature. It does so by offering a first systematic analysis of what we see as a twofold research agenda, namely the interrelated themes of victimhood—victims, their individual and collective identities, and their role in and impact upon post-conflict societies—and the politics of victimhood—meaning how victimhood is defined, negotiated and contested, both socially and politically. After explaining the absence of a critical engagement with the politics of victimhood in the literature, the introduction presents a brief overview of the scholarship addressing victims and victimhood in transitional justice and peacebuilding processes. It then outlines the book’s research agenda in more detail. The introduction then closes signalling the contribution of the present volume and identifying areas for further research.