Researching norms, narratives, and transitional justice: focus group methodology in post-conflict Croatia

Abstract

This article is based on the assumption that norms can help better understand one of the expressivist aims of transitional justice, that of building a new narrative about the past.The main argument is that focus groups, as an interactive method of inquiry, are well suited to investigating how this "judicial" narrative interacts with the official and dominant war narrative in Croatia. Focus groups are more adept at this than other methodological approaches since they can effectively reflect independence of opinion, they lead to more truthful answers through spontaneity, they effectively probe takenfor-granted concepts and they can more easily overcome distrust in post-conflict societies, especially with ex-combatants. The approach faces new challenges in such a situation since recruitment problems, insider/outsider status and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among other ethical concerns, present problems that often arise due to the group process. The powerful and unpredictable effect of the group dynamic can, therefore, provide a deep exploration of social norms, but it can also cause significant upset among participants. In this instance the methodology explores how widely accepted the war narrative is, how it is constructed and how important the public believes it is not to question it.

Negotiating the Kin-State Citizenship: The Case of Croats from Herzegovina

“…Several research participants perform executive political functions across Herzegovina – instead of TG-3, their quotes are referenced with TG-2 notation. Three focus groups have been conducted to explore citizenship discourse, which can be captured more precisely within the focus group discussion (Sokolić 2016). The aim was to ensure that the interview questions do not depart significantly from what participants find essential when discussing citizenship.…”

Looking Back at Milošević’s Antibureaucratic Revolution: What Do Ordinary Participants Now Think of Their Involvement?

“…Other scholars have begun to address the involvement of ordinary people and the connected processes of coming to terms with the past, but mostly focus on the terrain of the wars of the 1990s (Pavlaković 2010; Nettelfield 2010; Obradović-Wochnik 2013; Gordy 2014). A particularly promising way to approach this topic is through focus groups (Ćorkalo et al 2004; Banjeglav 2013; Sokolić 2016). In a collective and interactive discussion, participants can be asked to explain what they thought then and what they now think of their involvement.…”

Norm contestation and reconciliation: evidence from a regional transitional justice process in the Balkans

“…Sites and sources of contestation are many. In post-conflict contexts, transitional justice as a global norm is at times resisted due to a perceived tension with local norms (Sokolić 2016). The norm of transitional justice is also contested between ethnic groups (Kostić 2008), as well as within ethnic groups (Gordy 2013).…”