Past, present and future: Colonial comparative victimhood hinders reconciliation with Chinese Indonesians through prejudice among natives

Abstract

Dutch colonisers treated Chinese Indonesians preferably compared to native Indonesians which continues to impact relations between the two groups today. We investigated this impact through the lens of comparative victimhood beliefs. We conducted an online survey among native Indonesians (N = 333) and identified an indirect relationship between comparative collective victimhood and support for reconciliation with Chinese Indonesians via the mediating effect of general exclusive victimhood beliefs and prejudice in a serial mediation model. In Study 2, we tested the connections using experimental method among native Indonesians (N = 300). Participants who received a message supporting higher (vs. lower) historical comparative victimhood beliefs related to Chinese Indonesians showed higher exclusive victimhood beliefs and prejudice, and in turn, a decreased (vs. increased) support for reconciliation. These results support the idea that to enhance support for reconciliation, the trauma of the colonial past needs to be healed. We discuss the implications for intergroup relations in post‐colonial contexts among different victim groups.