In the framework of the collective vulnerability model, Spini, Elcheroth and Fasel (2008) suggested that situations in which risk of victimization is generalized across group boundaries tend to provoke a strengthening of principles, such as humanitarian norms, that enable the protection of a community. In this paper we present results of a survey addressed to study the generalization of risk in the violent conflicts of former Yugoslavia, during the Nineties. The TRACES survey (Transition to Adulthood and Collective Experiences Survey) is a multilevel survey based on a representative sample of the population of former Yugoslavia (N = 3795) and a sample of people born between 1968 and 1974 (N = 2254). Multilevel structural equation modelling was applied to investigate the relationship between individual judgment on several social norm violations (i.e., humanitarian, social and political rights) and collective indicators of victimizations, in the context of the post-conflict of former Yugoslavia. Results showed that when victimization is perceived as a generalized and collective experience, individuals are more favourable to the reinforcement of social norms. In particular the relationship between generalized victimization and reinforce of social norms is mediated by the perception of anomie: generalized victimization increment social anomie, which in turns leads to a strengthening of communitarian norms.
