PACE-310, Survey in Peace and Conflict Studies

Week 7: Violence: Re-defining conflict as a subjective reaction.

1. Four Adjectives to Qualify "violence":

a. Physical (Somatic) Violence

b. Aesthetic Violence
c. Moral Violence
d. Structural Violence
e. (Other Adjective) Violence

2. Irony

3. Tragedy

4. Violence.pptx

5. Johan Galtung, "Violence, Peace, and Peace Research"

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Defining Conflict and Violence

I. Conflict:

A. . . .what results from the existence, real or

imagined, of incompatible interests, goals, beliefs, or
activities. (Brunk 2000, 17 in Fisk and Schellenberg).

B. An expressed struggle between at least two

people 1) who are dependent on each other (i.e., who
are "conflict partners"), 2) who are trying to attain
incompatible goals and 3) who perceive their conflict
partner as interfering. (William Sharkey)

II. Violence:

A. "the rapid destruction of structures" (Quincy Wright 1948, 2)

B. "discordant dispositions" (Dustin Howes)

C. 1) "physical seizures or damage"

2) "actions of which we disapprove" (Tilly 2003)

D. [Structural] Violence is the difference between

"the actual and mental realizations [that are] below
their potential realization. (Galtung 1969)
"DefineViolenceOverhead.doc"
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Structural Injustice
1. The amount of money spent every year on perfumes in
Europe and the USA = US $12 billion
The amount of money still needed every year to provide
reproductive health care to all the women in developing
countries = US $12 billion

2. The amount of money spent annually on cosmetics in USA

= US $8 billion
The amount of money needed each year ( in addition to current
expenditure) to provide water and sanitation for all people in
the developing world = US $ 9 billion

3. The amount of money spent annually on pet food in Europe

and US = US $17 billion
The amount of money needed each year ( in addition to current
expenditure) to provide basic health and nutrition needs
universally in developing world = US $13 billion

4. The Amount of money spent annually on militaries

worldwide= US $780 billion
The amount of money needed each year ( in addition to current
expenditure) to provide basic education for all people in
developing world = US $6 billion

5. Combined annual income of the worlds poorest 2.5 million

people =US $1 Trillion
Combined wealth of the worlds 225 richest people = US $1
trillion

6. Amount of money spent in Europe annually on ice cream =

US $11 billion
The amount of money needed each year ( in addition to current
expenditure) to provide clean water and safe sewers for all
people in the developing world =US $9 billion

http://www.ifsha.org/trivia.htm. Accessed 20 Sept 2005

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Typology of Violence

I. Indeterminate Morality/Justice

A. Aesthetic Violence -- Subjective feelings of

repulsion and disgust.

1. Physical (Somatic) Violence -- Rapid

destruction of Structures.

II Determinate Morality/Injustice

A. Moral Violence-- violation of a moral code, an

injustice.

2. Structural Violence -- gap between

potential and actual, social injustice.

Violence

1) Most Common Definition:

"physical seizures or damage"

2) Best Definition:
"actions of which we disapprove"
(Tilly 2003)
"DefineViolenceOverhead.doc"
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Irony: The incongruence between expected
outcome and actual out come.

The procrastinator's meeting has been postponed.

Tragedy: An irony produced by force of necessity.

George W. Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq may or may

no be violent, but it is certainly tragic. Its actual
outcome fell far short of its expected outcome.

A tragic event, then, is basically a very negative

example of irony.

Too often, then, a violent event is really a tragedy, a

very negative unexpected outcome.

Go to PowerPoint
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"Violence, Peace, and Peace Research": Johan Galtung

Purpose: "The choice is here [in this article] to make the distinction
between personal and structural violence the basic one; justification
has been presented: 1) in terms of a unifying perspective (the cause
of the difference between potential and actual realisation): and 2) by
indicating that there is no reason to assume that structural violence
amounts to less suffering than personal violence" (p6).

Ulterior motive: "With this distinction between personal and structural

violence as basic, violence becomes two-sided, as does peace
conceived of as the absence of violence—An extended concept of
violence leads to an extended concept of peace. . . . so peace also
has two sides: absence of personal violence and absence of
structural violence. We shall refer to them as negative peace and
positive peace respectively " (p15).

I. An Imperial Research Agenda:

negative peace = absence of personal violence/injustice
To foster negative peace, one must do Conflict Resolution
Research.
positive peace = absence of structural violence/injustice
To foster positive peace, one must do Economic
Development Research.
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Ulterior motive: "With this distinction between personal and structural

violence as basic, violence becomes two-sided, as does peace
conceived of as the absence of violence—An extended concept of
violence leads to an extended concept of peace. . . . so peace also
has two sides: absence of personal violence and absence of
structural violence. We shall refer to them as negative peace and
positive peace respectively " (p15).

II. The Logical Trick: Arbitrary redefinition of adjectives negative and

positive.
An absence is always NEGATIVE; a presence is always
POSITIVE.

The absence of structural violence is as NEGATIVE as is the

absence of personal violence.

Therefore, what Galtung wants readers to believe is that:

negative peace = the absence of personal violence
positive peace = the absence of structural violence

But an absence is not positive. Positive peace must be the

presence of something. What is that something?

The Key: "In order not to overwork the word violence, we shall at
times refer to the condition of structural violence as social injustice"
(p5).

All Galtung's confusion is eliminated as soon as one realizes

that he is really talking about social justice and social injustice.

In other words,
negative personal peace = absence of personal justice
positive personal peace = presence of personal justice

negative social peace = the absence of social justice

positive social peace = the presence of social justice