Political violence

Photographs of victims of the Dirty War under the military dictatorship of Argentina (1976–1983), part of the U.S.-backed Operation Condor in Latin America.[1]

Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals.[2] It can include violence which is used by a state against other states (war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-state actors (forced disappearance, psychological warfare, police brutality, targeted assassinations, torture, ethnic cleansing, or genocide), and violence which is used by violent non-state actors against states and civilians (kidnappings, targeted assassinations, terrorist attacks, torture, psychological and/or guerrilla warfare).[3][4] It can also describe politically motivated violence which is used by violent non-state actors against a state (rebellion, rioting, treason, or coup d'etat) or it can describe violence which is used against other non-state actors and/or civilians.[2][3][4] Non-action on the part of a government can also be characterized as a form of political violence, such as refusing to alleviate famine or otherwise denying resources to politically identifiable groups within their territory.

Due to the imbalances of power which exist between state and non-state actors, political violence often takes the form of asymmetric warfare where neither side is able to directly assault the other, instead relying on tactics such as guerrilla warfare and terrorism.[2][3][4] It can often include attacks on civilian or otherwise non-combatant targets.[5] People may be collectively targeted based on the perception that they are part of a social, ethnic, religious, or political group;[5] or selectively, targeting specific individuals for actions that are perceived as challenging someone or aiding an opponent.[5][6]

Many politically motivated militant, insurgent, extremist, and/or fundamentalist groups and individuals[7] are convinced that the states and political systems under which they live will never respond to their demands, and they thus believe that the only way to overthrow and/or reshape the government or state accordingly to their political and/or religious worldview is through violent means, which they regard as not only justified but also necessary in order to achieve their political and/or religious objectives.[5][8][9][10] Similarly, many governments around the world believe that they need to use violence in order to intimidate their populaces into acquiescence. At other times, governments use force in order to defend their countries from outside invasions or other threats of force and coerce other governments or conquer territory.[11][12]

  1. ^ McSherry, J. Patrice (2010). "Part 2: The Mechanisms of Violence – Chapter 5: "Industrial repression" and Operation Condor in Latin America". In Esparza, Marcia; Huttenbach, Henry R.; Feierstein, Daniel (eds.). State Violence and Genocide in Latin America: The Cold War Years. Routledge Critical Terrorism Studies (1st ed.). London and New York: Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-415-49637-7. OCLC 1120355660.
  2. ^ a b c Bardall, Gabrielle; Bjarnegård, Elin; Piscopo, Jennifer M. (November 2020). "How is Political Violence Gendered? Disentangling Motives, Forms, and Impacts". Political Studies. 68 (4). SAGE Publications on behalf of the Political Studies Association: 916–935. doi:10.1177/0032321719881812. ISSN 1467-9248. LCCN 2008233815. OCLC 1641383. S2CID 213536755.
  3. ^ a b c Miller, Martin A. (2022). "The Dynamics of Entangled Political Violence: From the Greensboro Massacre (1979) to the War on Terror (2001)". In Larres, Klaus; Hof, Tobias (eds.). Terrorism and Transatlantic Relations: Threats and Challenges. Security, Conflict, and Cooperation in the Contemporary World (SCCCW). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 33–42. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-83347-3_3. ISBN 978-3-030-83347-3. S2CID 244740339.
  4. ^ a b c Stepanova, Ekaterina (2008). Terrorism in Asymmetrical Conflict: Ideological and Structural Aspects (PDF). SIPRI Research Report. Vol. 23. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1037/e549992011-001. ISBN 978-0-19-953356-5. OCLC 912414984. S2CID 142573156. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Rossi, Federica (April 2021). Treiber, Kyle (ed.). "The failed amnesty of the 'years of lead' in Italy: Continuity and transformations between (de)politicization and punitiveness". European Journal of Criminology. 20 (2). Los Angeles and London: SAGE Publications on behalf of the European Society of Criminology: 381–400. doi:10.1177/14773708211008441. ISSN 1741-2609. S2CID 234835036. The 1970s in Italy were characterized by the persistence and prolongation of political and social unrest that many Western countries experienced during the late 1960s. The decade saw the multiplication of far-left extra-parliamentary organizations, the presence of a militant far right movement, and an upsurge in the use of politically motivated violence and an upsurge in the use of repressive measures by a state. The increasing militarization and the increasing use of political violence, from sabotage and damage to property, to kidnappings and targeted assassinations, were justified by left-wing groups both as necessary means to achieve a revolutionary project and as defences against the threat of a neo-fascist coup.
  6. ^ Balcells, Laia; Stanton, Jessica A. (May 2021). Levi, Margaret; Rosenblum, Nancy L. (eds.). "Violence Against Civilians During Armed Conflict: Moving Beyond the Macro- and Micro-Level Divide". Annual Review of Political Science. 24 (1). Annual Reviews: 45–69. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-041719-102229. ISSN 1545-1577. LCCN 98643699. OCLC 42836185. S2CID 229425267.
  7. ^ Galland, Olivier (2020). "Religious Radicalism: from Absolutism to Violence". In Galland, Olivier; Muxel, Anne (eds.). Radical Thought among the Young: A Survey of French Lycée Students. Youth in a Globalizing World. Vol. 11. Translated by Hamilton, Peter. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 24–62. doi:10.1163/9789004432369_003. ISBN 978-90-04-43236-9. ISSN 2212-9383. S2CID 234647465.
  8. ^ Fox, Jonathan (2021). "Chapter 1: FUNDAMENTALIST EXTREMISM AND POLITICS". In Mathew, Mathews; Tay, Melvin (eds.). Religion and Identity Politics: Global Trends and Local Realities. Singapore: World Scientific. pp. 3–26. doi:10.1142/9789811235504_0001. ISBN 978-981-123-551-1. S2CID 237868169.
  9. ^ van Prooijen, Jan-Willem; Kuijper, Sophia M.H.C. (June 2020). Colin, Cooper (ed.). "A comparison of extreme religious and political ideologies: Similar worldviews but different grievances". Personality and Individual Differences. 159 (109888). Elsevier: 109888. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.109888. ISSN 0191-8869. LCCN 85647765. OCLC 04965018. S2CID 213954640.
  10. ^ Schoenberger, Robert A. (September 1968). "Conservatism, Personality, and Political Extremism". American Political Science Review. 62 (3). Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association: 868–877. doi:10.2307/1953436. ISSN 1537-5943. JSTOR 1953436. LCCN 08009025. OCLC 805068983. S2CID 144097887.
  11. ^ Valentino, Benjamin A. (May 2014). Levi, Margaret; Rosenblum, Nancy L. (eds.). "Why We Kill: The Political Science of Political Violence against Civilians". Annual Review of Political Science. 17 (1). Annual Reviews: 89–103. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-082112-141937. ISSN 1545-1577. LCCN 98643699. OCLC 42836185. S2CID 154287162.
  12. ^ Cohan, John A. (January 2006). "Necessity, Political Violence, and Terrorism" (PDF). Stetson Law Review. 35 (3). Gulfport, Florida: Stetson University College of Law: 903–982. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.