Chapter 3: How Memories and Narratives Influence Youth's Perceptions of Conflict and the “Out-Group”

In societies divided by armed conflict, young people often develop conflicting memories and interpretations of the violent past. Relying on interview and focus group discussion records from a study conducted in Georgia proper and its breakaway region of South Ossetia/Tskhinvali in April–June 2021, this chapter examines what Georgian and Ossetian youth remember about the conflict in South Ossetia, and how their memories influence their views on the other group and the future of the conflict. By analyzing the stories Georgian and Ossetian young people tell about the root causes of the conflict and its dynamic, I argue that youth in conflict-divided societies develop contradictory memories of the conflict that mirror prevailing public and political narratives on each side of the conflict divide. These conflicting memories – and the lack of interaction between the two societies – foster negative perceptions of the out-group on each side, which in turn affect how the youth assess the war-related trauma experienced by each side.