Beyond legitimating theories The SocioPolitical Anatomy of Violence

Beyond legitimating theories The Socio-Political Anatomy of Violence Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Prevalence of Violence? �It has been called “a problem from Hell” by former U. S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher �Gil Bailie calls it something “shrouded in justifying myths that lend it moral legitimacy” �Mary Mc. Carthy: “In violence, we forget who we are” Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Violence more visible? �Has violence really become tragically prevalent in the global society? �Does the age of media make it more visible? �If violence is increasing, isn’t that at odds with the ideals of civilization? �Does communication contribute to violence? (Rushdie case, Danish cartoons) Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Legitimating (? ) Theories of Violence �Nietzsche thinks that “genuine” morality is violent in its essence. Bourgeois morality is what preaches non-violence because it is cowardly, petty, and too docile (the Nazis of course were only too happy to use this encouraged by Nietzsche's sister’s fascist interpretation of his texts) Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Freud’s aggressivety drive �Freud talks about a will to aggressiveness (similar to the drive to die, Thanatos) that society (read civilization) suppresses. �The Discontents of Civilization (like the ills of the pysche) originate in some return of the repressed Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Steiner’s “sleeper” theory • Pychologist , John M. Steiner’s “sleeper” theory: • “The sleeper lies dormant until circumstances or specific events will activate him/her and produce behavioral traits not apparent before… • “Extreme deprivation coupled with powerlessness at one end of the spectrum and the assumption of considerable power, causing elation or ecstatic joy on the other, tend to produce the necessary conditions and thereby passions which can activate the sleeper “ Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Epistemological cul de sacs of philosophical theories �The problem with philosophical, psychoanalytical and psychological theories of violence is that they somehow justify the recourse to violence despite that fact that they help us understand the phenomenon Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Need for a politico—sociological approach �Need for a politico-sociological approach that does not justify violence –but that rather delegitimizes it �The approach should also be from a peace perspective. Violence should be looked at as a form of deprivation of something, even if this “something” remains ideal. Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Galtung’s peace approach �According to the Norwegian sociologist and father of peace research, Johan Galtung, violence is something that hinders the realization of potentialities of the person at whom the violent action is directed or as a phenomenon which reduces a person’s potential for performance. Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Violence is history-bound �Thus, if a person died from tuberculosis in the eighteen century it would be hard to conceive of this as violence since it might have been quite unavoidable, � but if s/he dies from it today, despite all medical resources in the world, then violence is present according to Galtung’s definition Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Violence as containment of potential • Violence is the cause of the difference between the actual and the potential and increases, or prevents the decrease of, the distance between them. • Violence as containment of potential is thus exerted on individuals, leading to the absence of social justice and the manipulation of knowledge. • Difference between potential & actual is only indicative of violence if it’s avoidable & known to be so. Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Impediments to the realization of the ideals of human life �Personal violence �Structural violence �Cultural violence �Symbolic violence (? ) Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Personal Violence �The deliberate causing of physical harm and infliction of pain or death by beating or killing one person or group by another, whether in war or in interpersonal situations, represents personal or direct violence, �Personal violence is a term that refers to a visible, personal, manifest and nonstructural act. Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Weber’s concept of State monopoly of the use of violence �Max Weber: the State monopolizes the use of violence; the process of legitimating the use of violence by states against individuals and groups. �States could be defined as entities that dispossess individuals of the right to use violence and that make use of it (by states) legal and acceptable Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Structural Violence �If a person kills another, and if a group attacks another, these are clear cases of direct violence. �What if the social structure, inside & between nations, is made up in such a way that some are permitted to live full, complete, long, creative lives with a high level of self-realization Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

What is structural violence? �Whereas others are killed slowly because of mal-nutrition, protein deficiency, inadequate health facilities, deprivation of all kinds of mental stimuli, and so on. This is structural violence. Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Cultural Violence �By “cultural violence” is meant aspects of culture, the symbolic sphere - exemplified by religion and ideology, language and art, empirical science and formal science (logic, mathematics) – that are used to justify or legitimize direct or structural violence. �Stars, crosses and crescents; flags, anthems and military parades; the ubiquitous portrait of the Leader; inflammatory speeches and posters- all these come to mind. Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Cultural Violence and religion �Religions preach peace but are source of a lot of cultural violence: Christian Crusades and Inquisition, Right wing Zionism, Jihadi Islam, nationalist hindusim, Sikh terror are only the most salient examples �Religions are not inherently violent but have enough “ingredients” that justify the recourse to violence and its legitimation through cultural means. Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Conclusion �Philosophical theories legitimate violence �Violence should be looked as a disparity between the potential and the actual �Whereas personal violence is direct and could be removed, structural violence is built into the system and is difficult to fight �Cultural violence legitimates the use of both personal and structural violence �Symbolic violence is the most complex of all Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence

Thank you Lahcen Haddad, Ph. D, Anatomy of Violence