Journal of Social and Political Psychology (Feb 2019)
Greedy Elites and Poor Lambs: How Young Europeans Remember the Great War
- Pierre Bouchat,
- Laurent Licata,
- Valérie Rosoux,
- Christian Allesch,
- Heinrich Ammerer,
- Maria Babinska,
- Michal Bilewicz,
- Magdalena Bobowik,
- Inna Bovina,
- Susanne Bruckmüller,
- Rosa Cabecinhas,
- Xenia Chryssochoou,
- István Csertő,
- Sylvain Delouvée,
- Federica Durante,
- Andreea Ernst-Vintila,
- Christine Flassbeck,
- Renata Franc,
- Denis Hilton,
- Serap Keles,
- Chantal Kesteloot,
- Reşit Kışlıoğlu,
- Alice Krenn,
- Irina Macovei,
- Silvia Mari,
- Vanja Medugorac,
- Nebojša Petrović,
- Tibor Pólya,
- Maaris Raudsepp,
- Alberto Sá,
- Inari Sakki,
- Vladimir Turjacanin,
- Salman Türken,
- Laurence van Ypersele,
- Danijel Vojak,
- Chiara Volpato,
- Geneviève Warland,
- Olivier Klein
Affiliations
- Pierre Bouchat
- Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Laurent Licata
- Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Valérie Rosoux
- Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Christian Allesch
- University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Heinrich Ammerer
- University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Maria Babinska
- University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
- Michal Bilewicz
- University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
- Magdalena Bobowik
- Universidad del País Vasco, San Sebastián, Spain
- Inna Bovina
- Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia
- Susanne Bruckmüller
- University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Nuremberg, Germany
- Rosa Cabecinhas
- Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
- Xenia Chryssochoou
- Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece
- István Csertő
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
- Sylvain Delouvée
- Université Rennes 2, Rennes, France
- Federica Durante
- Università degli Studi di Milano – Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- Andreea Ernst-Vintila
- Université Paris-Ouest Nanterre, Paris, France
- Christine Flassbeck
- Helmut-Schmidt-Universität, Hamburg, Germany
- Renata Franc
- Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb, Croatia
- Denis Hilton
- Université de Toulouse II, Toulouse, France
- Serap Keles
- University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Chantal Kesteloot
- Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society, Brussels, Belgium
- Reşit Kışlıoğlu
- Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany
- Alice Krenn
- University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Irina Macovei
- Universitatea Alexandru Ioan Cuza din Iași, Iași, Romania
- Silvia Mari
- Università degli Studi di Milano – Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- Vanja Medugorac
- Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb, Croatia
- Nebojša Petrović
- University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
- Tibor Pólya
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
- Maaris Raudsepp
- Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia
- Alberto Sá
- Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
- Inari Sakki
- University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Vladimir Turjacanin
- University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Salman Türken
- University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Laurence van Ypersele
- Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Danijel Vojak
- Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb, Croatia
- Chiara Volpato
- Università degli Studi di Milano – Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- Geneviève Warland
- Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Olivier Klein
- Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v7i1.781
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 7,
no. 1
pp. 52 – 75
Abstract
The present study examines current social representations associated with the origins of the Great War, a major event that has profoundly affected Europe. A survey conducted in 20 European countries (N = 1906 students in social sciences) shows a high consensus: The outbreak of the war is attributed to the warring nations’ leaders while the responsibility of the populations is minimized. Building on the concept of social representation of history (Liu & Hilton, 2005), we suggest that the social representations of the Great War fulfill social psychological functions in contemporary Europe. We suggest that WWI may function as a charter for European integration. Their content also suggests a desire to distinguish a positively valued ingroup ("the people") from powerful elites, construed as an outgroup.
Keywords
