Perpetrator Identity and Post-Conflict Ethnic Attitudes: The Legacies of Intragroup and Intergroup Violence

Researchers have extensively examined how political violence shapes social and political behavior, yet most studies focus on interethnic violence and assume a binary conflict structure. This study challenges that assumption by examining how perpetrator identity, ingroup versus outgroup, shapes postwar intergroup relations. Using original survey data from Tamil civilians in Northern Sri Lanka, we analyze exposure to intragroup and intergroup violence during Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, which involved substantial violence both across and within ethnic groups. We find that exposure to intragroup violence is associated with lower trust toward coethnics, reduced ingroup favoritism in attitudes and behavior, and weaker reliance on ethnic cues in political choice. In contrast, exposure to intergroup violence increases interethnic prejudice and social distance, heightens discrimination in behavioral interactions, and strengthens ethnically motivated political behavior. These findings indicate that perpetrator identity shapes the social legacies of wartime violence and can generate opposing postwar dynamics.