Collective Memory in the Basque Country: The Interplay Between Construals of Victimhood and Perpetratorship

Remembering experiences of collective victimhood and perpetratorship has long-lasting consequences for social relations in societies transitioning to peace. However, little is known about attributions of victimhood and responsibility in transitional societies, where social roles of victims and perpetrators are often dual or blurred. Expanding research on construals of victimhood and perpetratorship, with a sample of 351 participants from diverse segments of society, this chapter explores these processes in the Basque Country, a region that suffered one of the most enduring violent conflicts in Europe. Findings reveal that members of Basque society acknowledge multiple types of victimization but are more ambivalent in recognizing divergent forms of perpetratorship. Four distinct profiles in collective narratives emerged, namely, individuals who (a) recognize all types of responsibility and perpetratorship, (b) recognize victimhood more than perpetratorship, (c) accentuate State responsibility and victims more than Euskadi ta Askatasuna’s (ETA’s) responsibility and victims, and (d) blame ETA most and see their victims as those who suffered most. These narrative construals were associated with personal experiences of victimization. We stress the necessity of addressing complexities in the study of the collective memory of political violence by considering victimhood and perpetratorship simultaneously and considering multiple social groups that may represent them.