This book examines the survivors of political violence and terrorism, considering both how they have responded and how they have been responded to following critical incidents. As this work demonstrates, survivors of comparatively rare and spectacular violence hold a mirror up to society’s normative assumptions around trauma, recovery, and resilience. Drawing on two years of observational field research with a British NGO who work with victims and former perpetrators of PVT, this book explores contested notions of ‘resilience’ and what it might mean for those negotiating the aftermaths of violence. Examining knowledge about resilience from a multitude of sources, including security policy, media, academic literature, and the survivors themselves, this book contends that in order to make empirical sense of resilience we must reckon with both its discursive and practical manifestations. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, victimology, criminal justice, and all those interested in the stories of survivors.
Author(s): William McGowan
Series: Victims, Culture and Society | 2
Edition: 1
Publisher: Routledge | Taylor & Francis Group
Year: 2022
Language: English
Commentary: TruePDF
Pages: 275
Tags: Victims Of Political Violence; Victims Of Terrorism; Resilience (Personality trait)
Cover
Endorsement
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Making Up Resilience
A Note On Theory and Method
Structure of the Book
Part I Resilience as Discourse and Practice
Part II Turning Points and Processes of Resilience
Part III Repurposing Resilience
References
Part I Resilience as Discourse and Practice
Chapter 1 Setting the Scene of the ‘Terror–Trauma–Resilience’ Nexus in the 21st Century
Declared Resilience in the Face of Terror and Trauma: An Ascendant Relationship?
Securing Resilience: Building ‘Bounce-Back-Ability’ Into Counterterrorism, Critical Incident Recovery, and Civil Society
Taking ‘Resilience’ Seriously
Shifts in Temporality: ‘Resilience’ as Always-Already
Conclusion
References
Chapter 2 To Survivors Themselves: Why, Where, and How to Study Survivors of Political Violence and Terrorism?
Why Turn to the Narratives of Survivors Themselves?
The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace (FfP): A Brief History
Surviving What? How to (Not) Define Political Violence and Terrorism
Pre-Defining and A Priori Reasoning
Post-Defining and A Posteriori Reasoning
Dynamically ‘Defining’: Violence as Necessarily Contested
Making Sense of the Past in the Present: Making Up People
Conclusion
Note
References
Part II Turning Points and Processes of Resilience
Chapter 3 ‘Resilient’ to What?: Mapping the Impacts of Political Violence and Terrorism
Direct Impacts On Individual Survivors
Physical Injuries Over Time
Short-term Emotional Responses: Anger
Bereavement and Grief
Indirect Impacts On Survivors and Their Families
Long-term Emotional Responses: Fear, Anxiety, and Hypervigilance
Negotiating Media Attention
Effects On Personal Relationships
Conclusion
References
Chapter 4 Sources of Resilience for Survivors
Narrating Responses to Adversity: Inherent Resilience
Economic Factors
Victim Compensation
Communal Support Systems
Religion and Faith
Survivor Solidarity
Resilience as Doing: Practice-Oriented Support
The Foundation for Peace
Therapy and Counselling
Peace and Reconciliation Activities
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5 Exploring Temporalities of (In)Security and Resilience
Factors Influencing Retroactive and Prospective Narrative Formation
Violence ‘From Above’ and ‘From Below’: Official Inquests, Justice, and Peace Campaigning
Relating the Everyday to the Spectacular
Narrating Suffering and Journeys of Recovery
Embodied Proximity
Retroactive and Prospective Ways of Shaping ‘Resilience Narratives’: Two Ideal-Typical Cases
‘They Want to Drag You Back and We Don’t Want to Be Dragged Back’ (Anne and Kevin)
‘If I’d Still Have Been Working, I’d Be Flying High By Now’ (Chandani)
Conclusion
References
Part III Repurposing Resilience
Chapter 6 Temporality, Resistance, and Solidarity: The Making and Moulding of Resilient Survivor Communities
Accounting for Time Within Practices of Resilience
Making Space for Anger, Contestation, and Resistance Within Studies of Resilience
The Terrorism Survivor and Group Solidarity: ‘Making Up’ Resilient Survivor Communities
Conclusion
References
Chapter 7 Am I Invictus?
From the General to the Specific and Back Again: Five Framings of Resilience
Resilience as a Reformulation of Self Or Experience
Resilience as Group Solidarity
Resilience as Tacit Peer Support
Resilience as Transcending the Past
Resilience as Resisting Injustice
Survivor Resilience(s)
Responding to Harm and Bereavement: The Politics of Engaging With Victim Policy
Key Recommendations for Policy and Practice
Conclusion
References
Conclusion
Issues of Representation: A Methodological Note
‘Mind the Gap’: Discourse, NGO Practice and ‘Feedback Loops’
From ‘Public Issues’ to ‘Private Troubles’: Fostering a Sociological Imagination Back to Front?
Argumentum Ad Hominem: Researching a ‘Noisy’ Concept
Future Research Trajectories
Facing the Emotional Consequences of Suffering, Harm, and Loss: On Sameness and Difference, Uniqueness and Commonality
Further Inquiry Into the Temporal Dialectics of Ontological Security
Resilience in Action: The Making and Moulding of ‘Resilient’ Communities
Reappraising Violence and Its Spaces
Conclusion
References
Methodological Appendix
Research Questions
Research Design
Negotiating Access, Building Rapport, and Getting a Glimpse of Organisational Practice
Data Collection
Participant Information and Sample Diversity
Participant ‘Pen Portraits’
Amanda
Anne
Barry
Bridget
Chandani
Claire
Colin
Danielle
Ganesh
George
Jane
John
Karen
Kathy
Kelly
Kevin
Liz
Louise
Lynn
Paul
Stephen
Data Analysis: Producing Ideal Types Using Abductive Reasoning
Research Ethics
References
Index
