2. Political violence and victimization

The answer to situations marked by political violence –dictatorships, actions of state repression, wars between states, armed conflicts, “preventive attacks”– is usually posed by considering the various interests of the parties in the conflict, but very seldom is the centrality of the victims considered. Deep beneath lies the hobbesian idea that politics belongs to the living, and the dead, once they are dead, are moved to another department where economic reparation or violated honour is talked about, but not actually about politics. When it comes to the time of confronting the processes of political violence, to do justice and to seek reconciliation how can the centrality of victims be achieved?