Violence in Europe - Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

Title Page

Copyright Page

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

Contributors

Introduction

References

Part I Contested Definitions

Violence: Reflections About a Word

Definitions by Anthropologists

Intentional Encroachment upon the Physical Integrity of the Body

Remaining Problems

Conclusion

References

Violence as an Essentially Contested Concept

Introduction

Defining Violence Restrictively

Defining Violence Inclusively

Philosophical Clarification

Implications

References

Part II Long-Term Trends

Homicide in Scandinavia: Long-Term Trends and Their Interpretations

The Long-Term Trends- AnOverview

Medieval and Early Modern Homicide Rates - Uncertain Estimations

Discontinuities and Regional Differences. AMore Complicated Picture of the Long-Term Trends in Homicides

Explanations and Interpretations

Conclusions

References

Violence in France's Past: An Anthropological Approach

Violence and Domestic Reproduction

A Culture of Honour

The Internalization of the Judicial Norm and the Decline of Rural Violence

References

The Fall and Rise of Homicide in Ireland

Introduction

Famine (1845 to 1854)

Consolidation (1895 to 1904)

Stasis (1945 to 1954)

Prosperity (1995 to 2004)

Conclusion

References

Part III Contemporary Trends

Violence in Present-Day France: Data and Sociological Analysis

LowIntensity Violence

Fatal Violence is at theLow-Water Mark

Fragmented Violence

Social Relegation, Provocation, Exasperation (Robert, 1999, 2002

Policies Run onFashion, not on the Basis of Evaluation

Conclusion

References

From Old Threats to Enigmatic Enemies: The Evolution of European Policies from Low Intensity Violence to Homegrown Terrorism

Introduction

Why the Global Context Leads to More Violence

Ethnic Forms of Violence in Relegated Neighborhoods

Why Violent Clashes Between Male Youths and the Police are Persisting in France

Are Criminogenic Areas the Breeding Ground of Homegrown Terrorism?

What Should beDone?

Conclusion

References

Part IV Gendering Violent Practices

The Language of Violence: Symbolic Body Parts in Marital Conflicts in Early Modern France

Different Horizons of Meaning

Spousal Murder at Court

Spousal Murder in Narrative Literature

TheSymbolic Meaning of theBody

Violence and Social Sense

References

Negotiating Violence and Gender: Security and the Night Time Economy in the UK

Gendering Nightlife and the Rise of the Female Bouncer

Gendering 'Violence Work': Situating Diffusion

Discussion and Conclusions

References

Part V Politics, War and Violence

Violence and War: Measuring Homicide in Belgium (1900-1950)

Introduction

Homicide in the XXth Century: A Long Decline and Recent Upsurges

Methodological Issues on the Reliability of Data and Epistemological Issues on the Socially Constructed or Substantive Character of Interpersonal Aggression

Characteristics of the Multi-Secular Decline

Sources for Measuring Violent Death in Belgium

Judicial Statistics: Counting the Perpetrators

The Belgian Judicial System, Statistical Material, and Homicide

Legal-Institutional Classifications of Homicide

Medical Statistics: Counting the Victims

Homicide Rates in Belgium (1901-1950)

General Patterns

Medical Statistics

The Figures of Justice

A Geographical Pattern of Homicide

Homicide in Belgium in Peaceand War: Civilization or Brutalization?

References

Democratization and Violence: European and International Perspectives

Democratization, Democracy and Violence

Deficiency and Vulnerability: Democratization and Violence

Democracy and Violence: Tensions of Liberal Inclusion

Autocracy, Totalitarianism and Violence: 'Repressive Inclusion'

Transitions Toward Democracy: Cumulative Disadvantages and 'Booms' of Violence

Advantages of Democracy?

References

Violence and Violence-Control in Long-Term Perspective: 'Testing' Elias in Relation to War, Genocide, Crime, Punishment and Sport

Introduction

A Deeply Rooted Contemporary Belief

Towards a Typology of Human Violence

A Figurational 'Take' on the Concepts of Violence and Aggression

SomeSociological Reflections on Warfare Viewed in Long-term Perspective

SomeFigurational Reflections on Modern War

Genocide in the Process of Civilization

Aspects of Crime, Punishment and Sport in the 'Civilising' of the West

Conclusion: Trends in Violence and Elias's Thesis

References

Index