Violence in Europe : historical and contemporary perspectives / Sophie Body-Gendrot, Pieter Spierenburg, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Body-Gendrot, Sophie.

Spierenburg, Petrus Cornelis.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Violence--Europe, Western--Case studies.

Violence.

Violence--Europe, Western--History--Case studies.

Democratization.

History.

Western Europe.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

x, 256 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Springer, [2008]

Summary:

Taking the sociocultural long view, Violence in Europe analyzes the prevalence and role of violence-from street crime to terrorist attacks, homicide to genocide-in the evolution of human and national behavior. The editors and 14 colleagues in history, anthropology, sociology, and psychology focus on Northern and Western Europe, examining centuries of violent phenomena, from the cultural logic of the Middle Ages to today's soccer riots and security alerts. The contributors' examination of social constructions (honor codes, class and gender roles) and public ambivalence (acceptance, abhorrence, fascination) regarding violence sheds needed light on current dynamics in law enforcement, political systems, and what many have termed "the civilization of violence."

Findings from Britain, France, Ireland, Belgium, and Scandinavia explore: The paradoxes of ethnic violence and insider/outsider thinking in an increasingly multicultural world, Trends in interpersonal violence during wartime and peacetime, The gendering of violence, from early French marital laws to London's underground nightlife, The growth of cities: modernization, conflict, aggression, Modern prevention and surveillance strategies: effective solutions, complicating the problem, or some middle ground?

Reflecting innovative methods of research and interpretation, Violence in Europe is thought-provoking and instructive for researchers and students in psychology and criminology. And with the mounting global presence of violence today, this is reading with profound implications for the future.

Contents:

Part I Contested Definitions

Violence: Reflections About a Word / Pieter Spierenburg 13

Violence as an Essentially Contested Concept / Willem de Haan 27

Part II Long-Term Trends

Homicide in Scandinavia: Long-Term Trends and Their Interpretations / Dag Lindstrom 43

Violence in France's Past: An Anthropological Approach / Francois Ploux 65

The Fall and Rise of Homicide in Ireland / Ian O'Donnell 79

Part III Contemporary Trends

Violence in Present-Day France: Data and Sociological Analysis / Philippe Robert 95

From Old Threats to Enigmatic Enemies: The Evolution of European Policies from Low Intensity Violence to Homegrown Terrorism / Sophie Body-Gendrot 115

Part IV Gendering Violent Practices

The Language of Violence: Symbolic Body Parts in Marital Conflicts in Early Modern France / Dorothea Nolde 141

Negotiating Violence and Gender: Security and the Night Time Economy in the UK / Kate O'Brien, Dick Hobbs, Louise Westmarland 161

Part V Politics, War and Violence

Violence and War: Measuring Homicide in Belgium (1900-1950) / Xavier Rousseaux, Frederic Vesentini, Antoon Vrints 177

Democratization and Violence: European and International Perspectives / Susanne Karstedt 205

Violence and Violence-Control in Long-Term Perspective: 'Testing' Elias in Relation to War, Genocide, Crime, Punishment and Sport / Eric Dunning 227.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780387745077

0387745076

9780387745084

0387745084

OCLC:

173718709