Political Violence and Trauma in Argentina / Antonius C. G. M. Robben.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Robben, Antonius C. G. M., author.

Series:

Ethnography of Political Violence

The Ethnography of Political Violence

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political violence--Argentina--History--20th century.

Political violence.

Argentina--Politics and government--1943-.

Argentina.

Argentina--Social conditions--1945-1983.

Argentina--Social conditions--1983-.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (480 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2010]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

For decades, Argentina's population was subject to human rights violations ranging from the merely disruptive to the abominable. Violence pervaded Argentine social and cultural life in the repression of protest crowds, a ruthless counterinsurgency campaign, massive numbers of abductions, instances of torture, and innumerable assassinations. Despite continued repression, thousands of parents searched for their disappeared children, staging street protests that eventually marshaled international support. Challenging the notion that violence simply breeds more violence, Antonius C. G. M. Robben's provocative study argues that in Argentina violence led to trauma, and that trauma bred more violence. In this work of superior scholarship, Robben analyzes the historical dynamic through which Argentina became entangled in a web of violence spun out of repeated traumatization of political adversaries. This violence-trauma-violence cycle culminated in a cultural war that "disappeared" more than ten thousand people and caused millions to live in fear. Political Violence and Trauma in Argentina demonstrates through a groundbreaking multilevel analysis the process by which different historical strands of violence coalesced during the 1970's into an all-out military assault on Argentine society and culture. Combining history and anthropology, this compelling book rests on thorough archival research; participant observation of mass demonstrations, exhumations, and reburials; gripping interviews with military officers, guerrilla commanders, human rights leaders, and former disappeared captives. Robben's penetrating analysis of the trauma of Argentine society is of great importance for our understanding of other societies undergoing similar crimes against humanity.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Part I Groundswell: The Rise and Fall of Argentine Crowds

Chapter 1. Changing the Course of History: Dignity, Emancipation, and Entrenchment

Chapter 2. The Time of the Furnaces: Proscription, Compromise, and Insurrection

Chapter 3. A Breeze Turned into Hurricane: The Apogee of Crowd Mobilization

Chapter 4. Crowd Clashes: Euphoria, Disenchantment, and Rupture

Part II. Utopia Lost: Guerrilla War and Counterinsurgency

Chapter 5. Shots in the Night: Revenge, Revolution, and Insurgency

Chapter 6. The Long Arm of Popular Justice: Punishment, Rebellion, and Sacrifice

Chapter 7. Revolution Postponed: Anger, Frustration, and Entitlement

Chapter 8. The Shadows of Death: Improvisation, Counterinsurgency, and Downfall

Part III. Breaking Hearts and Minds: Torture, Self, and Resocialization

Chapter 9. The War of Cultures: Hierarchy Versus Equality, Christianity Versus Marxism

Chapter 10. The Wheelworks of Repression: Assault, Abduction, and Annihilation

Chapter 11. The Operating Theater: Torture, Dehumanization, and Traumatization

Chapter 12. Political Prisons and Secret Detention Centers: Dismantlement, Desocialization, and Rehabilitation

Part IV Argentina's Nightmare: The Forced Disappearance

Chapter 13. The Disappearance: Despair, Terror, and Fear

Chapter 14. The Search: Hope, Anguish, and Illusion

Chapter 15. The Call for Truth: Defiance, Resistance, and Maternal Power

Chapter 16. Recovery and Reburial of the Past: Democracy, Accountability, and Impunity

Conclusion: The Spirals of Violence and Trauma

Appendix 1: Interview List

Appendix 2: Acronyms

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (pages 421-440) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

1-283-21203-X

9786613212030

0-8122-0331-3

OCLC:

759158213