"And in the end no one is winning": the mobilization of historical knowledge in the resolution of conflict situations. Ideas of young Portuguese about peace and war

Abstract

This study was designed to seek the thoughts and ideas of young Portuguese about the concepts of peace and war. We present the findings of an empirical study of a descriptive, essentially qualitative, the sample consisted of 38 young people aged between 14 and 17 years who were attending the final year of compulsory education (9. º year). By applying a set of open questions aim to be understanding if they mobilize historical knowledge to find explanations for conflict situations or to examine the consequences of a war.

The data analysis provided us with indicators that suggest that these young people lead metahistoric concepts as causality and change, when they think the idea of war. Another idea that emerged frequently was the need for justification for the conflict.