Dr. Mikulan at the 19th SSSC

June, 2026

Dr. Janja Mikulan participated in the 19th Slovenian Social Science Conference (SSSC), which took place on 8–9 June 2026 in Ljubljana under the overarching theme Dialogues on Social Transformations in a Divided and Diverging World. 

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Within the conference session Social Fragmentation, Polarisation and Memory, Mikulan presented her research on Trauma-Informed Social Ecological Typology of Political Socialization and Mobilization in Gaza

The presentation addressed an important question in research on trauma, radicalization and political violence: why do individuals exposed to comparable conditions of prolonged violence and insecurity develop different political responses? The study draws on nine qualitative life-history interviews with Palestinian men in the Gaza Strip and examines experiences of siege, bombardment, displacement, loss and humiliation together with the role of family, peers, education, governance, identity, ideology and belonging.

Rather than treating trauma as an individual pathology or assuming a direct relationship between traumatic exposure and radicalization, the research situates individual development within broader social, institutional and political environments. The analysis identifies three divergent trajectories: militant alignment, sumud and professional agency as a non-violent pathway, and political disillusionment and exit.

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The findings highlight that trauma alone does not determine political behaviour. Instead, responses to prolonged insecurity are shaped by the interaction between personal experiences and social networks, political trust, institutional conditions, family support and the availability—or destruction—of non-violent opportunities for restoring dignity, agency and a sense of future.

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Through this contribution, Mikulan’s research adds to contemporary debates on trauma-informed approaches to radicalization, political socialization and social transformation in contexts of chronic and structural violence.