Israeli Identity, Thick Recognition and Conflict Transformation

“Playing the game”, identity and perception-of-the-other in water cooperation in the Jordan River Basin

“…To shed some more light on identity theory in this section, I would like to highlight the concepts of fluid identities and core construct borrowing from literature of social psychology and political psychology (Strömbom 2010). Assuming that collective and shared identities are constructed, rather that inherited by birth, human identities are never static nor homogenous, therefore most personal identities are subject to change through process of cognition and perception in relation to and communication with other human beings (Turner 1999, Strömbom 2010.…”

“…Assuming that collective and shared identities are constructed, rather that inherited by birth, human identities are never static nor homogenous, therefore most personal identities are subject to change through process of cognition and perception in relation to and communication with other human beings (Turner 1999, Strömbom 2010. Kelly (1995) developed the notion of core construct meaning a central identity construct of a person that is less susceptible to change; if this core identity construct of an individual, an ego, feels threatened in any form by perception-of-the-other as an enemy, this ego could start feeling insecure and the individual even become violently defensive (Shotter 2007, Strömbom 2010. In case of a negative and fearful perception-of-the-other, a perceived existential threat to the core construct can lead to a violent outbreak between two or more people.…”

Whose place?: emplaced narratives and the politics of belonging in East Jerusalem's contested neighbourhood of Silwan

“…Collectives who base their claims on legitimate ownership of a place tend to be nervous and restless as these claims can always be challenged when contrasted to other collectives' claims to the same place (Dunn, 2009, p. 124;Geschiere & Jackson, 2006, p. 6). Insecurity and conflict in turn tend to generate an urge to anchor one's collective identity even deeper in a secure and stable narrative, which might spur recurring violent dynamics in a vicious circle (Strömbom, 2013).…”

“…Symbolically, the critical narrative of Emek Shaveh can be linked to more overarching critical narratives that have existed in Israeli society for a long time (cf. Silberstein, 1999;Strömbom, 2013). These narratives question ethnicity or religion as principles for building community, and rather emphasize universal values such as human rights and democracy as ideals on which to form society.…”

Narratives of (In)Security: Nationhood, Culture, Religion, and Gender

“…Much work on globalization, modernity, and economic liberalization show for instance how some individuals, groups, and even states tend to cling to what they perceive as stable identity constructions in light of rapid change (Bauman, ; Beck, ; Freeman, ; Giddens, ; Kinnvall, ; Mitzen, ) and how these identity constructions become a matter of anchoring a constant notion of self in narrative structures. Similarly, a number of studies of war‐torn societies and peace‐building processes indicate how dealing with traumatic pasts and demonized images of other groups or societies often involve a search for secure narratives of the past as manifest in national, ethnic, or religious histories and symbols (Björkdahl and Mannergren Selimovic, ; Bar‐Tal, Abutbul Selinger, & Raviv, ; Strömbom, ).…”