The Politics of Victimhood
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leicester
Department Name: Politics
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Organisations
Publications
Brace L
(2014)
Bodies in abolition: broken hearts and open wounds
in Citizenship Studies
Brace L
(2013)
Borders of emptiness: gender, migration and belonging
in Citizenship Studies
| Description | This seminar series on the politics of victimhood critically engaged with the idea of the 'victim' as a complex political category, both in political and international relations theory and in policy related work. The five seminars engaged with the creation of victims through war and conflict and the politics of their protection, then with narratives of victimhood in post-conflict situations, and then with contestability of victimhood in the context of trafficking and slavery, and finally with the representation of victimhood and what that means for 'helpability'. The series drew out some of the problems with the victim-focused approach, and looked in particular at the risks of depoliticization it carries with it in these different contexts. This allowed us to develop a range of critical perspectives on the politics of victimhood, and to think through some of the political challenges involved in assigning, claiming, negotiating, contesting and leaving the status of 'victim'. |
| Exploitation Route | The seminars brought together theorists, researchers and members of the research user community to analyse multiple perspectives on the politics of victimhood. Scholars from Sociology, Politics, International Relations, Anthropology, Geography and Philosophy were able to identify common concerns around the conceptualization of 'victimhood' across substantive topics such as 'new wars', the politics of risk, protection and vulnerability, human rights discourse, and the politics of peace-building and reconciliation. Participants from NGOs, victims' groups and campaigning organisations brought the victims' voices closer to the table, and helped to shape the critical analysis that emerged from this seminar series. Both academic and non-academic participants will be able to take these persepctives forward into their work, making their approaches to the category of 'victim' more nuanced, interdisciplinary and critical. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Security and Diplomacy |
| Description | The seminars were attended by scholars from different disciplines and at different stages in their academic careers. The opportunity for interdisciplinary dialogue and exchange, and for extending and diversifying academic networks was widely appreciated, as illustrated by the following quotes from e mails thanking us for organising the seminars: "My participation in the seminar was very valuable for my thinking on the specific research project I presented on as well as for my larger research interests... I also came to learn about the work of researchers with whom I was previously unfamiliar, thereby expanding my academic networks. There are already plans afoot for me to work collaboratively with several of the participants." "The seminars opened up new opportunities to collaborate in projects and networks with other colleagues who work on similar issues [and] provided a valuable platform for me to learn from researchers from different disciplines who critically engaged with the Politics of Victimhood. It significantly extended my research network and broadened my analysis in my own work regarding the politics of anti-trafficking initiatives in South Korea The comments and discussion prompted me to develop my presentation into a full-length article, and it is currently under review for publication." "The international character of the group was particularly stimulating... As a PhD student, it is not often that one has the opportunity to participate in high level discussions among professional academic researchers and the seminar series provided me with a) an opportunity to present my own work in a friendly yet very professional environment and b) to listen to and learn about ways of presenting and discussing data." In terms of broader societal impacts, participants reported that the seminars benefited their work with non-academic organizations in the following ways: provided new insights to inform work with sex workers organizations contending with the negative consequences of "anti-trafficking" policies; helped in the formulation of a response to a consultation paper by the Finnish government on changing the law on prostitution to 'curb trafficking', especially by drawing attention to the Swedish experience of similar legislation and NGOs' responses to it; developed an understanding of how the concepts of victim and vulnerability can be operationalized which is now being taken forward in Defence for Children International in Italy's work on building more effective protection systems for separated children and improving guardianship. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Other |