1st Edition

Dynamics of Political Violence A Process-Oriented Perspective on Radicalization and the Escalation of Political Conflict

By Chares Demetriou, Lorenzo Bosi Copyright 2014
    320 Pages
    by Routledge

    320 Pages
    by Routledge

    Dynamics of Political Violence examines how violence emerges and develops from episodes of contentious politics. By considering a wide range of empirical cases, such as anarchist movements, ethno-nationalist and left-wing militancy in Europe, contemporary Islamist violence, and insurgencies in South Africa and Latin America, this pathbreaking volume of research identifies the forces that shape radicalization and violent escalation. It also contributes to the process-and-mechanism-based models of contentious politics that have been developing over the past decade in both sociology and political science. Chapters of original research emphasize how the processes of radicalization and violence are open-ended, interactive, and context dependent. They offer detailed empirical accounts as well as comprehensive and systematic analyses of the dynamics leading to violent episodes. Specifically, the chapters converge around four dynamic processes that are shown to be especially germane to radicalization and violence: dynamics of movement-state interaction; dynamics of intra-movement competition; dynamics of meaning formation and transformation; and dynamics of diffusion.

    Chapter 1 A Contentious Politics Approach to the Explanation of Radicalization, Lorenzo Bosi, Chares Demetriou, Stefan Malthaner; Part I Dynamics of Interaction between Oppositional Movements/Groups and the State; Chapter 2 The Mechanisms of Emotion in Violent Protest, Hank Johnston; Chapter 3 A Typology of Backfire Mechanisms, Lasse Lindekilde; Chapter 4 Processes of Radicalization and De-radicalization in Western European Prisons (1965–1986), Christian G. De Vito; Part II Competition and Conflict; Chapter 5 Competitive Escalation During Protest Cycles, Donatella della Porta; Chapter 6 Intra-movement Competition and Political Outbidding as Mechanisms of Radicalization in Northern Ireland, 1968–1969, Gianluca De Fazio; Chapter 7 The Limits of Radicalization, Devashree Gupta; Part III Dynamics of Meaning Formation; Chapter 8 Contentious Interactions, Dynamics of Interpretations, and Radicalization, Eitan Y. Alimi, Hank Johnston; Chapter 9 Radical or Righteous? Using Gender to Shape Public Perceptions of Political Violence, Jocelyn Viterna; Chapter 10 From National Event to Transnational Injustice Symbol, Thomas Olesen; Part IV Dynamics of (Transnational) Diffusion; Chapter 11 Radicalization from Outside, Eduardo Romanos; Chapter 12 Protest Diffusion and Rising Political Violence in the Turkish ’68 Movement, Emin Alper; Chapter 13 The Evolution of the al-Qaeda-type Terrorism, Ekaterina Stepanova; Chapter 14 Conclusion, Martha Crenshaw;

    Biography

    Lorenzo Bosi, European University Institute, Italy, Chares Demetriou, Queen's University Belfast, UK and Stefan Malthaner, Bielefeld University, Germany.

    'A fascinating, wide-ranging set of arguments about a vital topic. Combining the insights of distinguished scholars with those of a new wave of academic analysts, the book offers a good sense of what we know, and of where our research should move in the next phase of our work. An impressive volume.’ Richard English, Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St Andrews, UK ’Dynamics of Political Violence is one of the most stimulating volumes on this topic to appear in recent years. It is theoretically sophisticated, drawing on cutting-edge ideas from the fields of social movements and contentious politics. It is also wide-ranging in its themes and case studies. This is essential reading for anyone interested in political violence and terrorism.’ Jeff Goodwin, New York University, USA 'In short, Dynamics of Political Violence constitutes a very important contribution to the debate on radicalisation. The ’process-oriented’ approach to understanding violent movements not only dispels some false assumptions often prevalent in our understanding but is also capable of informing scientists and practitioners alike. As such, this volume is undoubtedly a worthy read.' LSE Review of Books