Perception of perpetrators’ acknowledgement of victimhood increases rather than decreases support for reconciliation with another victim group

Centuries of colonial oppression in the collective memory of native Indonesians perpetuated their perception as victims of historical injustice, and left behind violent intergroup conflicts. We investigated how perceived acknowledgement of victimhood by perpetrators and another victim group would predict support for reconciliation with Chinese Indonesians through acknowledgement of ingroup wrongdoing and reduced prejudice.

We conducted an online survey among native Indonesians (N = 333) and identified an indirect relationship between perceived acknowledgement of victimhood by Dutch colonizers and support for reconciliation with Chinese Indonesians via the mediating effect of prejudice. However, contrary to expectations, participants with higher levels of perceived acknowledgement of victimhood by perpetrators were more likely to show prejudice, which in turn predicted lower support for reconciliation. Acknowledgement of ingroup wrongdoing was not a statistically significant mediator.

This study suggests that, in some cases, acknowledgement of victimhood by the perpetrator group may be primarily taken as a confirmation of victimhood rather than a direct path towards a more peaceful co-existence with other groups.