Collective violence politics

Author: (USA) Tilly, C.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: How about the activation of boundaries in collective violence? When violence rapidly escalates from small-scale to large-scale, three processes are at play, though in different sequences and combinations. First, political strongmen engage in their work of activation, connection, coordination, and representation; second, polarization often accompanies or stems from the strongmen's actions; finally (often as a result of political brokerage and polarization), uncertainty emerges near the boundaries. In situations where uncertainty increases near the boundaries, the opportunity for violence generally rises and becomes more pronounced. The reasons for this increase in violence opportunities are: people respond to threats posed by social arrangements built on these boundaries, which include exploitation by others, property rights, and endogamy. In all social interactions, the increase in the of violence is due to the loss of assurance provided by existing non-violent procedures. Based on a broad absorption of various theories and empirical resources related to contentious politics, this book primarily accomplishes three things: 1) establishes a methodology for thinking about collective violence and explains the types and variations of collective violence; 2) identifies the mechanisms and processes that drive the occurrence and change of collective violence; 3) discloses representative cases of collective violence in different countries to elaborate the author's arguments. Collective violence behavior is dangerous but often unavoidable. This book serves as a reference for scholars studying collective violence and provides theoretical support for advocates of non-violent political struggles.