This article examines the political socialization of young children who live under conditions of intractable conflict. We present four premises: First, we argue that, within the context of intractable conflict, political socialization begins earlier and faster than previously suspected, and is evident among young children. Second, we propose that the agents of political socialization impart narratives of the ethos of conflict and of collective memory in young children that support continuation of the conflict. Third, we maintain that the great majority of the young children form systematic and coherent systems of beliefs, attitudes, and emotions that support the conflict as a result of political socialization and direct exposure to conflict. Finally, we suggest that the conflict-related contents absorbed by children have lasting effects on the solidification of children’s later socio-psychological repertoire. Our arguments highlight the serious consequences of political socialization processes on very young children in societies involved in intractable conflict.

The article examines the political socialization of young Jewish-Israeli children who live under the Israeli-Palestinian intractable conflict. It proposes arguments and presents empirical evidence to suggest that the way in which political socialization of young children happens in this context contributes to the development of conflict-supporting narratives of ethos of conflict and collective memory by the youngest generation. As a result, the conflict solidifies adherence to these narratives in adulthood, thereby serving as a major obstacle to the processes of peace-making and peace-building. Specifically, as evidence for showing how the political socialization works in Israel, a series of studies conducted in Israeli kindergartens and elementary schools are presented. These studies recount the contents acquired by young children, as well as contents delivered by teachers, related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This indicates the serious consequences of acquiring conflict-supporting narratives at an early age in societies involved in intractable conflict.

One significant socio-psychological barrier for peaceful resolution of conflicts is each party's adherence to its own collective narrative. We hypothesized that raising awareness to the psychological bias of naïve realism and its identification in oneself would provide a path to overcoming this barrier, thus increasing openness to the adversary's narrative. We conducted three experimental studies in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Studies 1 and 2, conducted among Jewish Israelis and Palestinian Israelis, respectively, revealed that participants with hawkish political ideology reported greater openness to the adversary's narrative when they were made aware of naïve realism bias. Study 3 revealed that hawkish participants at the baseline adhered to the ingroup narrative and resisted the adversary's narrative more than dovish participants. They were also more able to identify the bias in themselves upon learning about it. This identification may explain why the manipulation led to bias correction only among hawkish participants.

This study investigates the sociopsychological infrastructure (SPI) of the Palestinian society which facilitates coping with the reality of the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Specifically, the study examines the views of Palestinian children and adolescents toward the conflict, as expressed in their writings in a youth newspaper. The timeline focuses on 3 distinct periods: the peace process (1996 -1997), the reemergence of the violent conflict (2001)(2002), and a relatively calm period (2005)(2006)(2007). By examining the SPI in the Palestinian case, the study aims to contribute to the existing research on the sociopsychological foundations of intractable conflict, which has so far focused on Israeli Jewish society. The key findings show that about a third of the writings of Palestinian children and youth focused on the conflict, and demonstrate the existence of the SPI and its elements. In particular, the writings mainly reflect the following components of SPI: (a) societal beliefs of victimization, (b) patriotism, and (c) collective emotion of hope. These results are discussed in relation to the particular experiences that the Palestinian children and adolescents undergo in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This study investigated political socialization in Israeli‐Jewish kindergartens. Specifically, it examined the scope of conflict supporting and peace supporting themes that Jewish‐Israeli kindergarten teachers transmit to children during ceremonies of national events. Sixty‐eight observations in 17 state‐secular and state‐religious kindergartens were conducted during five ceremonies: Passover, Holocaust Day, Memorial Day for Israeli Fallen Soldiers, Independence Day, and Jerusalem Day. The findings reveal that teachers transmit messages that comply with the conflict supporting themes to the children. The most dominant themes were collective self‐perceived victimization, justness of one’s own goals, positive collective self‐image, ingroup security, and patriotism. These themes were more dominant in state‐religious than in state‐secular kindergartens. Thus, we found that the kindergarten teachers serve as agents of political socialization who transmit the hegemonic national narratives to the younger generation.