New episode of the podcast Cultures of Memory in Dialogue: “How to (Dis)courage Acknowledging Responsibility”

Academic research often highlights the positive role of online memory activism in promoting alternative views on the legacy of war. Human rights activists increasingly use social media to advocate for justice and reconciliation in post-conflict settings, counter war crimes denial, mobilize public support, and foster open discussions on these issues.

The 2024 study Social Media, Stereotypes, and the Acknowledgement of War Crimes (Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Taylor & Francis) explores the role of social media in facilitating the acknowledgment of war crimes committed by one’s own ethnic group. The findings reveal that individuals are less willing to acknowledge their group’s responsibility for war crimes on social media. The study sheds light on the unexpected negative consequences of mediated visibility of war crimes and challenges assumptions of digital universalism, showing that the implications of visibility are context-dependent.

In the new podcast episode, we discuss the study’s findings with Dr. Sanja Vico from the University of Exeter, UK. Dr. Vico’s research focuses on social media in the contexts of identity, migration, nationalism, and post-conflict justice and reconciliation. She is currently examining intra-ethnic interactions on and beyond social media concerning the war’s legacy, exploring the role of digital platforms in fostering discourse change. Her book on nationalism in digital media is forthcoming with Routledge.

Dr. Olivera Simić, an Associate Professor at Griffith University’s Law School in Australia and Visiting Fellow at the Transitional Justice Institute, Ulster University, Belfast, authored and hosted the podcast.

Episode 31, “How to (Dis)courage Acknowledging Responsibility,” is available at this link and on the HLC accounts on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Podcast Addict and Podcast.rs.