The Politics of Collective ViolenceAre there any commonalities between such phenomena as soccer hooliganism, sabotage by peasants of landlords' property, road rage, and even the events of September 11? With striking historical scope and command of the literature of many disciplines, this book seeks the common causes of these events in collective violence. In collective violence, social interaction immediately inflicts physical damage, involves at least two perpetrators of damage, and results in part from coordination among the persons who perform the damaging acts. Charles Tilly argues that collective violence is complicated, changeable, and unpredictable in some regards, yet also results from similar causes variously combined in different times and places. Pinpointing the causes, combinations, and settings helps to explain collective violence and also helps to identify the best ways to mitigate violence and create democracies with a minimum of damage to persons and property. Charles Tilly is the Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science at Columbia University. He has published more than twenty scholarly books, including twenty specialized monographs and edited volumes on political processes, inequality, population change and European history. |
Contents
VARIETIES OF VIOLENCE | 1 |
VIOLENCE AS POLITICS | 26 |
TRENDS VARIATIONS AND EXPLANATIONS | 55 |
VIOLENT RITUALS | 81 |
COORDINATED DESTRUCTION | 102 |
OPPORTUNISM | 130 |
BRAWLS | 151 |
SCATTERED ATTACKS | 170 |
BROKEN NEGOTIATIONS | 194 |
CONCLUSIONS | 221 |
239 | |
255 | |
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Common terms and phrases
action activists armed army authorities battle began Beijing brawls broken negotiations brokerage Catholic century challenges civil civilians collective violence conflict contentious politics coordinated destruction damage deaths democracy demonstrations distinction episodes ethnic example exploitation and opportunity fighting forces forms of collective gangs genocide governmental agents groups high-capacity democratic regimes high-capacity regimes hostage Hutu Power increased individual Ireland Irish Kigali killing leaders lence low-capacity undemocratic regimes major mechanisms Ménétra military militias nonviolent occurred officers opportunity hoarding Orange Order organized participants parties peasants performances persons police political actors political entrepreneurs politicide population potlatch processes Protestant rebellion relations repression resistance road rage Rwanda Rwandan genocide salience scattered attacks shift side signaling spirals social Somalia specialists in violence Sri Lanka stakes street struggles terror Tilly tion troops Tutsi Ulster variation Vendée village violent interactions violent means violent rituals violent specialists WUNC