The uses of victimhood as a hegemonic meta-narrative in eastern Europe

Narratives of wartime suffering, communist evils, and maltreatment by the 'West' have started featuring prominently in the political discourse across eastern Europe in the past decade and half. Permeating the public sphere, such narratives imply complex victimhood and often gain a hegemoni...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of contemporary European studies Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 442 - 458
Main Author Barton Hronešová, Jessie
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 02.04.2024
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Communism
Decades
eastern Europe
Hegemony
Interdisciplinary aspects
Narratives
ontological security
Ontology
Political discourse
Political power
Populism
Public sphere
Right wing politics
Security
Victimhood
war
World War II
Europe
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Summary:Narratives of wartime suffering, communist evils, and maltreatment by the 'West' have started featuring prominently in the political discourse across eastern Europe in the past decade and half. Permeating the public sphere, such narratives imply complex victimhood and often gain a hegemonic status. Why have such victimhood narratives become so pervasive? And what has been their purpose across eastern Europe? This interdisciplinary article provides a conceptual and empirical explanation of how hegemonic narratives of victimhood have been used to enhance ontological security and as an instrument of power-seeking political leaders, especially (but not exclusively) right-wing populists. It shows that although the local attachment to memory and history is often portrayed as irrational, victimhood as a narrative has clear benefits regarding national ontological security as the self-understanding of a state and a tool to justify policies. Using concrete examples, the articles identify three main sub-narratives of direct, historical and structural victimhood linked to World War II, communism and the precarious relationship with the 'West', arguing that the combination of historical traumas and the post-1989 transformations explain the pan-regional proliferation of victimhood.
ISSN:1478-2804
1478-2790
DOI:10.1080/14782804.2022.2110456