Victimization narratives arise out of the experience of historical and ongoing injury, and often intersect or, in part, constitute identity narratives. Unless transformed through reconciliation, these narratives can be used by political leaders to mobilize and perpetuate violence. Victimization narratives are grounded in lived experiences, whether by contemporary generations or passed on from one generation to another as a historical narrative about the prior experience of victimization. Therefore, cycles of violence cannot be ended sustainably unless those narratives are transformed; and first, narratives of victimization and cycles of violence must be disrupted. This is the work of many peace activists in Israel and Palestine whose relationships are built on empathic engagement. This book reviews theories of empathy across a broad range of scholarly work. It then applies a framework of political psychology to understand the role of empathy in the accounts of peace activists whose identities as victims were transformed by their empathic engagement. It includes a chapter providing historical background, and concludes with a consideration of alternative futures for the Israeli and Palestinian people and communities.

Social Construction of Man, the State, and War is the first book on conflict in the former Yugoslavia to look seriously at the issue of ethnic identity, rather than treating it as a given, an unquestionable variable. Combining detailed analysis with a close reading of historical narratives, documentary evidence, and first-hand interviews conducted in the former Yugoslavia, Wilmer sheds new light on how ethnic identity is constructed, and what that means for the future of peace and sovereignty throughout the world.

Social Construction of Man, the State, and War is the first book on conflict in the former Yugoslavia to look seriously at the issue of ethnic identity, rather than treating it as a given, an unquestionable variable. Combining detailed analysis with a close reading of historical narratives, documentary evidence, and first-hand interviews conducted in the former Yugoslavia, Wilmer sheds new light on how ethnic identity is constructed, and what that means for the future of peace and sovereignty throughout the world.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203800842

Indigenous peoples represent the unfinished business of decolonization. In this fascinating volume, Franke Wilmer examines how indigenous activists are cultivating international support for a program of self-determination and legal protection, as well as how "the indigenous voice in world politics" is transforming civic discourse within the international community. With the United Nations designation for 1993 as the "Year of Indigenous Peoples," this book could not be more timely in its subject matter or in its scale of coverage. The Indigenous Voice in World Politics will serve as a benchmark text for students in ethnic studies, political science, development studies, sociology, and international relations. "The topic area that Dr. Wilmer has defined is a vital one that will appeal to a broad and growing audience. It is not only of great importance and interest morally and politically, but (in Wilmer's hands) of great significance intellectually. Indeed, Wilmer's ability to combine the moral/political with the intellectual/theoretical is exceptional, and a great source of this project's originality and power. This book will find readers among human rights activists, ethnologists, sociologists, cultural anthropologists, students of international relations, and laypersons interested in indigenous peoples, especially American Indians. This is an impressive project." --Richard H. Brown, University of Maryland at College Park "This is one of the few times anyone from the political science discipline has taken a very good cross view of what has transpired in indigenous cultures." --Ron LaFrance, American Indian Program, Cornell University "The Indigenous Voice in World Politics stands as a benchmark text for use in both undergraduate and graduate courses emphasizing or including consideration of the international status of indigenous peoples." --Ward Churchill, American Indian Studies, University of Colorado at Boulder "While Wilmer's analysis of the legal and philosophical debate on the status of indigenous peoples draws heavily on the U. S. experience, specific examples of the fate of these communities are drawn from all around the globe. This book would make an excellent text for courses in American Indian studies, political science, international relations, and international law, as well as a useful supplementary text for courses on ethnic and racial minorities." --Sociological Imagination