The Power of Collective Resilience Against Political Violence and Repression

by Yasemin Gulsum Acar (Editor), Blerina Këllezi (Editor), Sandra Penic (Editor)

Overview

This book outlines the importance of collective resilience for civilians in the face of war and political violence, examining how people develop social resources to confront adversity and foster meaningful change.

Drawing on novel research from a range of diverse contexts, the book explores a nuanced picture of how political violence can lead to increased social cooperation and action within communities, as well as the well-documented negative dynamics. It brings together research into the collective resilience of civilians in the context of political violence and repression in three fields: psychological well-being, resistance and collective action, and reconciliation and peacebuilding. Chapters describe the underlying social-psychological processes behind collective resilience and discuss the limits and boundary conditions in the emergence of resilience. The contributors illustrate how communities leverage solidarity and shared identity to challenge divisive violence, pursue justive, and build sustainable peace, empasizing the importance of social processes in transforming harm into pathways for recovery, empowerment, and resilience.

The Power of Collective Resilience Against Political Violence and Repression will be highly relevant reading for postgraduate students and academics in the fields of social and political psychology, and those researching intergroup relations, social change, peace, and conflict. It will also be of interest to activists interested in collective action and resilience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032708539
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/13/2025
Pages:	276
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Yasemin Gülsüm Acar is Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, UK. Yasemin’s research interests include outcomes of collective action, social identity, and intergroup conflict.

Blerina Këllezi is Associate Professor in Social and Trauma Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Blerina’s research investigates the collective nature of the experiences, impact and responses to mass human rights violations.

Sandra Penić is a senior researcher and lecturer at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Sandra’s research examines the impact of collective victimization on individuals’ emotions, beliefs, and actions in various conflict-affected societies.

Table of Contents

Collective resilience against political violence and repression: An introduction

Yasemin Gülsüm Acar, Blerina Këllezi & Sandra Penić

 

I.                   Beyond trauma: Collective resilience in coping with victimisation

 

A social identity model of collective resilience in emergent groups 

John Drury & Evangelos Ntontis

 

Understanding collective resilience of civilians in the contexts of political violence and repression

Orla Muldoon, Anna-Mariya Lashkay, Alžběta Lebedová, Dearbhla Moroney, Catriona Shelly, & Lisa Skilton

 

The good, the bad and the ugly: Social cure and social curse in the context of political violence and repression 

Blerina Këllezi

 

II.                Beyond resignation: Collective resilience as resistance

 

“They are not your cheerleaders, mate, they are coming to fight the fight.” Media presentations of women’s collective resilience and resistance in the Sudan revolution 

 Sigrun Marie Moss, Lara-Sabina Sorgenfrei, & Salma Mohamed Abdalmunim Abdalla 

 

Resilience versus Resistance? Insights from the Recent Multiple-Crises Context of Lebanon 

Yara Zebian, Haneen Eldiri, & Rim Saab 

 

Rethinking collective resilience under oppression through Kurdish understandings of power and resistance 

canan coşkan & Helin Ünal 

 

The power of Black resilience: The role of history in contributing to collective resilience 

Hema Preya Selvanathan & Phia Salter

 

Collective Resilience and Resistance 

Carmen Marazzi, Aritra Mukherjee, & Johanna Ray Vollhardt

 

III. Beyond ‘us vs. them’: Inclusive resilience

 

Inclusive resilience in violent settings 

Sandra Penić, Guy Elcheroth, John Dixon, & Simon Hug

 

Altruism born of suffering: How empathy, compassion, and self-compassion promote coping with violence 

Patricia Cernadas Curotto

 

Beyond Vulnerability: Collective Victimization Beliefs that are Linked to Collective Resilience  

Hu Young Jeong, Michelle S. Twali, & Johanna Ray Vollhardt 

 

Remembering, resilience, and intergroup relations  

Sandra Obradović

 

The power and limits of collective resilience: Conceptualising collective resilience that recognizes the impact of political violence and repression on groups and societies

Blerina Këllezi, Yasemin Gülsüm Acar, & Sandra Penić