Abstract
This work aims to show that the sacrificial status of the victims of acts of terrorism, such as the 2004 Madrid train bombings (“11-M”) and ETA (Basque Homeland and Liberty) attacks in Spain, is determined by how it is interpreted by the communities affected and the manner in which it is ritually elaborated a posteriori by society and institutionalised by the state. We also explore the way in which the sacralisation of the victim is used in socially and politically divided societies to establish the limits of the pure and the impure in defining the “Us”, which is a subject of dispute. To demonstrate this, we first describe two traumatic events of particular social and political significance (the case of Miguel Ángel Blanco and the 2004 Madrid train bombings). Secondly, we analyse different manifestations of the institutional discourse regarding victims in Spain, examining their representation in legislation, in public demonstrations by associations of victims of terrorism and in commemorative “performances” staged in Spain. We conclude that in societies such as Spain’s, where there exists a polarisation of the definition of the “Us”, the success of cultural and institutional performances oriented towards reparation of the terrorist trauma is precarious. Consequently, the validity of the post-sacrificial narrative centring on the sacred value of human life is ephemeral and thus fails to displace sacrificial narratives in which particularist definitions of the sacred Us predominate.
Highlights
Sacrifice, Terrorism and RitualIn this article, we seek to show that the sacrificial status of the victims of acts of terrorism such as the 2004 Madrid train bombings and ETA (Basque Homeland and Liberty) attacks in Spain does not occur in a closed form but is subject to different interpretations by those affected by the attacks
We hermeneutically address the relationship between sacrifice and terrorism, highlighting the process whereby social representations of the victims are elaborated
We describe two traumatic events of particular social and political significance, which are the subject of collective processes of a cultural nature
Summary
We seek to show that the sacrificial status of the victims of acts of terrorism such as the 2004 Madrid train bombings Ever since Hubert and Mauss published their seminal study in 1899, sacrifice has come to be seen as a ritual act in which the participants take on a sacred nature, in such a way that the sacrificial offering passes from the commonplace to the religious This is a central element of the religious experience and is characteristic of Neolithic agricultural cultures and societies. The fact that the diverse manifestations of terrorism have a ritual character does not mean per se that the terrorist act or attack constitutes a sacrificial ritual For this to be the case, the immolated victim must represent the sacrifier, be it an individual or a community. In all other cases (the majority), it is seen as a necessary process of victimisation to achieve a specific goal
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