Why and how victimhood matters? Between strategic ontological narratives and intersectional injustice in contemporary Serbia

In Serbia, political elites have long propagated narratives of historical injustice and foreign hostility, strategically mobilizing victimhood as a framework for national identity. Promoted by the ruling regime to ostensibly restore pride, these narratives serve to justify foreign policy and obscure domestic dysfunction. But why and how do these narratives resonate? Drawing on original focus group data with university students, this article shows that university students across Serbia adopt victimhood not as a nationalist reflex, but to articulate intersectional marginalization across political, economic and generational lines. Victimhood, in this sense, is not just remembered – it is lived. Framed as a strategic ontological narrative, it functions as an interpretive lens through which they make sense of their vulnerabilities and exclusions. By rethinking victimhood in ontological terms, this article offers new insights into its emotional and political appeals. It also moves beyond simplistic explanations of victimhood’s resonance rooted in essentialized notions of Serbian nationalism.