Privileged representations of peace: Perpetuating systemic violence


Birdir E., Molina L., Coskan C.

BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, cilt.65, sa.1, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 65 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1111/bjso.70042
  • Dergi Adı: BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, CINAHL, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Index Islamicus, MEDLINE, Psycinfo
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Kuzey Kıbrıs Kampüsü Adresli: Evet

Özet

Social psychological research typically focuses on promoting peace between groups in conflict by fostering intergroup harmony through prejudice reduction or advancing social justice through collective action. Unfortunately, these investigations rarely consider the mainstream discursive structures and epistemic engagement that normalize collective ethnic/racial violence. We addressed this gap with two mixed-method (i.e., qualitative and quantitative) studies in two contexts (Turkey and the United States), utilizing decolonial frameworks informed by liberation psychology, critical race theory and privileged ethnic/racial (Turkishness and White racial) contracts. Comparative analysis of meta-representations of peace among Turks (Study 1; N = 116) and White Americans (Study 2; N = 151) exposed the overlapping (i.e., negative peace and reliance on the nation-state order) and divergent (i.e., assimilative inclusion and neoliberal individuality) elements of privileged epistemic engagement with peace that align with Turkishness and White racial contracts, perpetuating collective violence. Furthermore, both Turks' and White Americans' ethnic/racial identity endorsement predicted higher perceptions of the state/military contribution to peace, suggesting the role of racial privilege in maintaining systemic violence. To our knowledge, this work is the first social psychological investigation of the Turkishness contract and the comparative analysis of privileged meta-representations of peace.