Armed resistance and self esteem : ex-combatants in Palestine and South Africa

International audienceThis paper is intended to compare the subjective experiences of two sets of veterans, one having taken part in the ANC's struggle against apartheid (1980-1990) and the other having joined the Fatah uprisings of 1987 against Israel. The apartheid system has been entirely dismantled and the ANC now governs South Africa. The Palestinians, by contrast, remain under Israeli control, and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation has failed to create an independent Palestinian state. And yet, surprisingly, ANC activists tend to see themselves as victims, while those of Fatah usually see themselves as heroes. I shall offer the hypothesis that the heroization or victimization of self is drawn from a collective political imagination and is related to the construction of self-esteem