Greedy elites and poor lambs: How young Europeans remember the great war

Bouchat, Pierre;Licata, Laurent;Rosoux, Valérie;Van Ypersele, Laurence;Klein, Olivier;et.al.
(2019) Journal of Social and Political Psychology — Vol. 7, n° 1, p. 52-75 (2019)

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Abstract
The present study examines current social representations associated with the origins of the Great War, a major event that has profoundly affected Europe. A survey conducted in 20 European countries (N = 1906 students in social sciences) shows a high consensus: The outbreak of the war is attributed to the warring nations’ leaders while the responsibility of the populations is minimized. Building on the concept of social representation of history (Liu & Hilton, 2005), we suggest that the social representations of the Great War fulfill social psychological functions in contemporary Europe. We suggest that WWI may function as a charter for European integration. Their content also suggests a desire to distinguish a positively valued ingroup ("the people") from powerful elites, construed as an outgroup.
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Bouchat, P., Licata, L., Rosoux, V., Van Ypersele, L., Warland, G., Klein, O., & et al. (2019). Greedy elites and poor lambs: How young Europeans remember the great war. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 7(1), 52-75. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v7i1.781 (Original work published 2019)