“They only followed Orders” : Promoting an Inclusive Group Identity in Cambodia through Genocide Education?

Sammanfattning: Whereas reconciliation in Cambodia has mostly received academic attention in terms ofanalyzing state-institutions, this thesis explores the role of civil society actors. Of particularinterest is the impact, grass-root efforts can have on promoting an inclusive group identitythrough educational means. This will be researched through the analysis of attitudes towardselements of an inclusive group identity held by pre-service teachers, who were interviewedbefore and after they took part in a so-called genocide education workshop organized by theDocumentation Center of Cambodia. These attitudes will be examined in terms of theirjustifications, and if the workshop influenced their quantity as well as quality. In addition, bytaking into account justifications of attitudes supporting an inclusive group identity, threecommon denominators will be identified that can help strengthening the impact of futureeducational efforts within the framework of reconciliation. Of particular interest in this regardwill be the finding highlighting the relation of functionalist perception of perpetrators thatproofed to be supportive of the interviewees` acceptance of an inclusive group identity.