“I Will be a King There”: Lies,Omissions,and the Maintenance of a Violent Criminal Identity

Abstract

Understanding prolonged violent criminality necessitates consideration of a person’s cultivated life story, as well as motivations that may not be consciously accessible or explicitly articulated. Crucially, both are shaped within specific sociocultural contexts that impose constraints and provide resources for identity construction. We analyze the life story of “Abdullah,” a former child soldier of the Bosnian war (1992–1995) and a chronic violent persister. We examine the manifest text of Abdullah’s self-narrative—including the distortions, lies, and hyperbolic statements he uses to construct his identity and justify his crimes—and what we interpret as latent meaning in his omissions and points of contradiction. We show that Abdullah draws from culturally available narratives involving masculinity and heroism, and argue that such narratives are also defenses against his anxiety. This work contributes to scholarship on how broader sociocultural narratives and underlying emotional dynamics sustain chronic violent criminality across the life course.

Plain Language Summary

I Will Be a King There’: How Lies and Omissions Support a Violent Criminal Identity

Understanding long-term violent criminal behavior requires paying attention to how people make sense of their lives, as well as to motivations they may not fully recognize or openly describe. Both are shaped by sociocultural contexts that shape and constrain identity. We analyze the life story of Abdullah, a former child soldier in the Bosnian war (1992–1995) and a chronic violent offender. We examine the explicit content of Abdullah’s self-narrative–including the distortions, lies, and exaggerations he uses to construct his identity and justify his actions–as well as the meanings suggested by his omissions and contradictions. We show that Abdullah draws on widely available cultural narratives of masculinity and heroism, and argue that these narratives also serve as psychological defenses against anxiety. This study contributes to research on how sociocultural narratives and emotional processes sustain chronic violent offending over the life course.

Keywords

criminal persistence lies narrative criminology war psychosocial criminology violence

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