Description
This paper explores the legacy that the experience of war leaves in societies. The focus is on three peoples who are currently living through war and conflict: Ukrainians, Syrians, and Palestinians. Survey data collected from these three groups inquired into respondents’ interpretations of their war experiences. The three parts of the questionnaire comprise first, people’s stories about the conflict events and the parties involved; second, their feelings of national attachment to their countries despite or because of the war, and third, their visions of a peaceful future. Together, people’s narratives of the war, their national identifications, and their ideas of the future form what this paper calls the ‘legacy of war’. The paper shows how, by coming to terms with the war, processing collective feelings, and imagining the future, new political and social visions emerge that outline a possible horizon for peace.
