Temporalities of victimhood: time in the study of post-conflict societies.

Mueller-Hirth, Natascha

Abstract

Researchers in peace and conflict studies have rarely focused on time and temporality. This article seeks to extend the literature on the politics of victimhood by examining the context of a mature post-transition society, drawing on qualitative research with victims/survivors of gross human rights violations in South Africa. Two decades after the democratic transition, there is a prevalent understanding that it is finally time for victims to 'move on'. In contrast to the supposed linear temporality of peace processes however, the consequences of past violence continue to impact on interviewees' lives and are exacerbated by contemporary experiences of victimisation. I identify several areas of temporal conflict that characterise post-conflict societies: victimhood as temporary/ victimhood as continuous; the pace of national reconciliation/ the time(s) of individual healing; and the speed of a neoliberal economy/ the pace of social transformation. I also examine temporal inequalities that reflect broader socio-economic marginalisation, such as being made to wait for reparations. This temporal analysis of victimhood not only highlights the mismatch between victims' perceptions and needs and the expectations of broader society, but it also draws attention to the temporality of transitional processes and programmes at different social and institutional levels.

Citation

MUELLER-HIRTH, N. 2017. Temporalities of victimhood: time in the study of post-conflict societies. Sociological forum [online], 32(1), pages 186-206. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.1232

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 28, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Nov 4, 2016
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Sep 9, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 5, 2018
• Journal: Sociological forum
• Print ISSN: 0884-8971
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-7861
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 186-206
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12323
• Keywords: Victimhood; Temporality; Time; Post conflict; South Africa; Violence
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/1627
• Contract Date: Sep 9, 2016