(Routledge Advances in Sociology) 1st Edition
by Michalis Lianos (Author)
Is violent conflict inevitable?
What is it in our social nature that makes us conduct wars, genocides
and persecutions? The answer lies in how we are programmed to bond and
form communities that demand loyalty in order to let us belong. The
analysis in this book cuts through the social sciences in order to show
the fundamentals of violent conflict.
The book investigates
conflict at the level of sociality. It reorganises existing theories of
conflict under that perspective and brings them to bear upon the link
between violence and togetherness. It introduces the key concept of closure
to describe the conditions under which human groups start to perceive
their position as similar and their reality as polarised. This is how
normality starts breaking down and fault lines appear. Violent conflict
is then analysed as a reaction that seeks change more rapidly than
conditions seem to allow.
Global comparative data from numerous
studies – including M. Mousseau's works – are used to disentangle the
factors that contribute to "democratic peace", that is, the fact that
democratic societies do not go to war with each other. This inquiry
reveals the new dimension of sociodiversity, which allows societies
where individuality is strong to constantly produce alternatives and
avoid closure. The book concludes with a coda on peace and
sociodiversity which explains how contemporary societies can ensure
durable peace and adequate social justice at the same time.
Written
in a clear and direct style, this volume will appeal to students,
researchers and scholars with an interest in political sociology,
anthropology, international relations, war studies, as well as conflict
and peace studies.
