political violence essay topics

The Rise of Political Violence in the United States

• Rachel Kleinfeld

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Recent alterations to violent groups in the United States and to the composition of the two main political parties have created a latent force for violence that can be 1) triggered by a variety of social events that touch on a number of interrelated identities; or 2) purposefully ignited for partisan political purposes. This essay describes the history of such forces in the U.S., shares the risk factors for election violence globally and how they are trending in the U.S., and concludes with some potential paths to mitigate the problem.

O ne week after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Eric Coomer, an executive at Dominion Voting Systems, was forced into hiding. Angry supporters of then-president Donald Trump, believing false accusations that Dominion had switched votes in favor of Joe Biden, published Coomer’s home address and phone number and put a million-dollar bounty on his head. Coomer was one of many people in the crosshairs. An unprecedented number of elections administrators received threats in 2020—so much so that a third of poll workers surveyed by the Brennan Center for Justice in April 2021 said that they felt unsafe and 79 percent wanted government-provided security. In July, the Department of Justice set up a special task force specifically to combat threats against election administrators. 1

From death threats against previously anonymous bureaucrats and public-health officials to a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor and the 6 January 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, acts of political violence in the United States have skyrocketed in the last five years. 2  The nature of political violence has also changed. The media’s focus on groups such as the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and Boogaloo Bois has obscured a deeper trend: the “ungrouping” of political violence as people self-radicalize via online engagement. According to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), which maintains the Global Terrorism Database, most political violence in the United States is committed by people who do not belong to any formal organization.

About the Author

Rachel Kleinfeld is senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She was the founding CEO of the Truman National Security Project and serves on the National Task Force on Election Crises.

View all work by Rachel Kleinfeld

Instead, ideas that were once confined to fringe groups now appear in the mainstream media. White-supremacist ideas, militia fashion, and conspiracy theories spread via gaming websites, YouTube channels, and blogs, while a slippery language of memes, slang, and jokes blurs the line between posturing and provoking violence, normalizing radical ideologies and activities.

These shifts have created a   new reality: millions   of Americans willing to undertake, support, or excuse political violence, defined here (following the violence-prevention organization Over Zero) as physical harm or intimidation that affects who benefits from or can participate fully in political, economic, or sociocultural life. Violence may be catalyzed by predictable social events such as Black Lives Matter protests or mask mandates that trigger a sense of threat to a common shared identity. Violence can also be intentionally wielded as a partisan tool to affect elections and democracy itself. This organizational pattern makes stopping political violence more difficult, and also more crucial, than ever before.

Political Violence in the United States Historically

Political violence has a long history in the United States. Since the late 1960s, it was carried out by   intensely ideological groups that pulled adherents out of the mainstream into clandestine cells, such as the anti-imperialist Weather Underground Organization or the anti-abortion Operation Rescue. In the late 1960s and 1970s, these violent fringes were mostly on the far left. They committed extensive violence, largely against property (with notable exceptions), in the name of social, environmental, and animal-rights causes. Starting in the late 1970s, political violence shifted rightward with the rise of white supremacist, anti-abortion, and militia groups. The number of violent events declined, but targets shifted from property to people—minorities, abortion providers, and federal agents.

What is occurring today does not resemble this recent past. Although incidents from the left are on the rise, political violence still comes overwhelmingly from the right, whether one looks at the Global Terrorism Database, FBI statistics, or other government or independent counts. 3  Yet people committing far-right violence—particularly planned violence rather than spontaneous hate crimes—are older and more established than typical terrorists and violent criminals. They often hold jobs, are married, and have children. Those who attend church or belong to community groups are  more  likely to hold violent, conspiratorial beliefs. 4  These are not isolated “lone wolves”; they are part of a broad community that echoes their ideas.

Two subgroups appear most prone to violence. The January 2021 American Perspectives Survey found that white Christian evangelical Republicans were outsized supporters of both political violence and the Q-Anon conspiracy, which claims that Democratic politicians and Hollywood elites are pedophiles who (aided by mask mandates that hinder identification) traffic children and harvest their blood; separate polls by evangelical political scientists found that in October 2020 approximately 47 percent of white evangelical Christians believed in the tenets of Q-Anon, as did 59 percent of Republicans. 5  Many evangelical pastors are working to turn their flocks away from this heresy. The details appear outlandish, but stripped to its core, the broad appeal becomes clearer: Democrats and cultural elites are often portrayed as Satanic forces arrayed against Christianity and seeking to harm Christian children.

The other subgroup prone to violence comprises those who feel threatened by either women or minorities. The polling on them is not clear. Separate surveys conducted by the American Enterprise Institute and academics in 2020 and 2021 found a majority of Republicans agreeing that “the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast” that they “may have to use force to save it.” Respondents who believed that whites faced greater discrimination than minorities were more likely to agree. 6  Scholars Nathan Kalmoe and Lilliana Mason found that white Republicans with higher levels of minority resentment were more likely to see Democrats as evil or subhuman (beliefs thought to reduce inhibitions to violence). However, despite these feelings, the racially resentful did not stand out for endorsing violence against Democrats. Instead, the people most likely to support political violence were both Democrats and Republicans who espoused hostility toward women. 7  A sense of racial threat may be priming more conservatives to express greater resentment in ways that normalize violence and create a more permissive atmosphere, while men in both parties who feel particularly aggrieved toward women may be most willing to act on those feelings.

The bedrock idea uniting right-wing communities who condone violence is that white Christian men in the United States are under cultural and demographic threat and require defending—and that it is the Republican Party and Donald Trump, in particular, who will safeguard their way of life. 8  This pattern is similar to that of political violence in the nineteenth-century United States, where partisan identity was conflated with race, ethnicity, religion, and immigration status; many U.S.-born citizens felt they were losing cultural power and status to other social groups; and the violence was committed not by a few deviant outliers, but by many otherwise ordinary citizens engaged in normal civic life.

Changing social dynamics were the obvious spur for this violence, but it often yielded political outcomes. The ambiguity incentivized and enabled politicians to play with fire, deliberately provoking violence while claiming plausible deniability. In the 1840s and 1850s, from Maine and Maryland to Kentucky and Louisiana, the Know-Nothing party incited white Protestants to riot against mostly Catholic Irish and Italian immigrants (seen as both nonwhite and Democratic Party voters). When the Know-Nothings collapsed in 1855 in the North and 1860 in the South, anti-Catholic violence suddenly plummeted, despite continued bigotry. In the South, white supremacist violence was blamed on racism, but the timing was linked to elections. After the Supreme Court ruled in 1883 that the federal government lacked jurisdiction over racist terror, overturning the 1875 Civil Rights Act, violence became an open campaign strategy for the Democratic Party in multiple states. Lynchings were used in a similar manner. While proximate causes were social and economic, their time and place were primed by politics: Lynchings increased prior to elections in competitive counties. 9  Democratic Party politicians used racial rhetoric to amplify anger, then allowed violence to occur, to convince poor whites that they shared more in common with wealthy whites than with poor blacks, preventing the Populist and Progressive Parties from uniting poor whites and blacks into a single voting base. As Jim Crow laws enshrined Democratic one-party control, lynchings were not needed by politicians. Their numbers fell swiftly; they were no longer linked to elections. 10

Risk Factors for Election Violence

Globally, four factors elevate the risk of election-related violence, whether carried out directly by a political party through state security or armed party youth wings, outsourced to militias and gangs, or perpetrated by ordinary citizens: 1) a highly competitive election that could shift the balance of power; 2) partisan division based on identity; 3) electoral rules that enable winning by exploiting identity cleavages; and 4) weak institutional constraints on violence, particularly security-sector bias toward one group, leading perpetrators to believe they will not be held accountable for violence. 11

The rise of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) illustrates this dynamic. In 2002, a train fire killed Hindu pilgrims returning to Gujarat, India, from a contested site   in Ayodhya. An anti-Muslim pogrom erupted. India’s current prime minister, the BJP’s Narendra Modi, was then chief minister of Gujarat. During three days of violence directed almost entirely against Muslims, he allowed the police to stand by and afterward refused to prosecute the rioters. The party won state legislative elections later that year by exploiting Hindu-Muslim tensions to pry Hindu voters from the Congress Party. The party has since stoked ethnic riots to win in contested areas across the country, and Modi reprised the strategy as prime minister. 12

In India’s winner-take-all electoral system, mob violence can potentially swing elections. Though fueled by social grievance, mob violence is susceptible to political manipulation. This is the form of electoral violence most like what the United States is experiencing, and it is particularly dangerous. Social movements have goals of their own. Though they may also serve partisan purposes, they can move in unintended directions and are hard to control.

Today, the risk factors for electoral violence are elevated in the United States, putting greater pressure on institutional constraints.

Highly competitive elections that could shift the balance of power:  Heightened political competition is strongly associated with electoral violence. Only when outcomes are uncertain but close is there a reason to resort to violence. For much of U.S. history, one party held legislative power for decades. Yet since 1980, a shift in control of at least one house of Congress was possible—and since 2010, elections have seen a level of competition not seen since Reconstruction (1865–77). 13

Partisan division based on identity:  Up to the 1990s, many Americans belonged to multiple identity groups—for example, a union member might have been a conservative, religious, Southern man who nevertheless voted Democratic. Today, Americans have sorted themselves into two broad identity groups: Democrats tend to live in cities, are more likely to be minorities, women, and religiously unaffiliated, and are trending liberal.   Republicans generally live in rural areas or exurbs and are more likely to be white, male, Christian, and conservative. 14  Those who hold a cross-cutting identity (such as black Christians or female Republicans) generally cleave to the other identities that align with their partisan “tribe.”

As political psychologist Lilliana Mason has shown, greater homogeneity within groups with fewer cross-cutting ties allows people to form clearer in- and out-groups, priming them for conflict. When many identities align, belittling any one of them can trigger humiliation and anger. Such feelings are heightened by policy differences but are not about policy; they are personal, and thus are more powerful. These real cultural and belief differences are at the heart of the cultural conflicts in the United States.

U.S. party and electoral institutions are intensifying rather than reducing these identity cleavages. The alignment of racial and religious identity with political party is not random. Sorting began after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1965 as whites who disagreed with racial equality fled the Democratic Party. A second wave—the so-called Reagan Democrats, who had varied ideological motivations, followed in 1980 and 1984. A third wave, pushed away from the Democratic Party by the election of Barack Obama and attracted by Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, drew previous swing voters who were particularly likely to define “Americanness” as white and Christian into the Republican Party. 15

A 2016 Pew Research Center poll found that 32 percent of U.S. citizens believed that to be a “real American,” one must be a U.S.-born Christian. But among Trump’s primary voters, according to a 2017 Voter Study Group analysis, 86 percent thought it was “very important” to have been born in the United States; 77 percent believed that one must be Christian; and 47 percent thought one must also be “of European descent.” 16  According to Democracy Fund voter surveys, during the 2016 primaries, many economic conservatives, libertarians, and other traditional Republican groups did not share these views on citizenship. By 2020, however, white identity voters made up an even larger share of the Republican base. Moreover, their influence is greater than their numbers because in the current U.S. context—where identities are so fixed and political polarization is so intense—swing voters are rare, so it is more cost-effective for campaigns to focus on turning out reliable voters. The easiest way to do this is with emotional appeals to shared identities rather than to policies on which groups may disagree. 17  This is true for both Republicans and Democrats.

The Democratic Party’s base, however, is extremely heterogeneous. The party must therefore balance competing demands—for example, those of less reliable young “woke” voters with those of highly reliable African American churchgoers, or those of more-conservative Mexican American men with those of progressive activists. In contrast, the Republican Party is increasingly homogenous, which allows campaigns to target appeals to white, Christian, male identities and the traditional social hierarchy.

The emergence of large numbers of Americans who can be prompted to commit political violence by a variety of social events is thus partially an accidental byproduct of normal politics in highly politically sorted, psychologically abnormal times. Even in normal times, people more readily rally to their group’s defense when it is under attack, which is why “ they  are out to take  your  x” is such a time-honored fundraising and get-out-the-vote message. Usually, such tactics merely heighten polarization. But when individuals and societies are highly sorted and stressed, the effects can be much worse. Inequality and loneliness, which were endemic in the United States even before the covid-19 pandemic and have only gotten worse since, are factors highly correlated with violence and aggression. Contagious disease, meanwhile, has led to xenophobic violence historically.

The confluence of these factors with sudden social-distancing requirements, closures of businesses and public spaces, and unusually intrusive pandemic-related government measures during an election year may have pushed the more psychologically fragile over the edge. Psychologists have found that when more homogenous groups with significant overlap in their identities face a sense of group threat, they respond with deep anger. Acting on that anger can restore a sense of agency and self-esteem and, in an environment in which violence is justified and normalized, perhaps even win social approval. 18

The sorts of racially coded political messages that have been in use for decades will be received differently in a political party whose composition has altered to include a greater percentage of white identity voters. Those who feel that their dominant status in the social hierarchy is under attack may respond violently to perceived racial or other threats to their status at the top. But those lower on the social ladder may also resort to violence to assert dominance over (and thus psychological separation from) those at the bottom—for example, minority men over women or other minorities, one religious minority over another, or white women over minority women. Antisemitism is growing among the young, and exists on the left, but is far stronger on the right, and is particularly salient among racial minorities who lean right. 19  On the far-left, violent feelings are emerging from the same sense of group threat and defense, but in mirror-image: Those most willing to dehumanize the right are people who see themselves as defending racial minorities.

Republicans and Democrats have been espousing similar views on the acceptability of violence since 2017, when Kalmoe and Mason began collecting monthly data.

Between 2017 and 2020, Democrats and Republicans were extremely close in justifying violence, with Democrats slightly more prone to condone violence—except in November 2019, the month before Trump’s first impeachment, when Republican support for violence spiked. Both sides also expressed similarly high levels of dehumanizing thought: 39 percent of Democrats and 41 percent of Republicans saw the other side as “downright evil,” and 16 percent of Democrats and 20 percent of Republicans said that their opponents were “like animals.” Such feelings can point to psychological readiness for violence. Separate polling found lower but still comparable levels: 4 percent of Democrats and 3 percent of Republicans believed in October 2020 that attacks on their political opponents would be justified if their party leader alleged the election was stolen; 6 percent of Democrats and 4 percent of Republicans believed property damage to be acceptable in such a case. 20

The parallel attitudes suggest that partisan sorting and social pressures were working equally on all Americans, although Republicans may have greater tolerance for online threats and harassment of opponents and opposition leaders. 21  Yet actual incidents of political violence, while rising on both sides, have been vastly more prevalent on the right. Why has the right been more willing to act on violent feelings?

The clue lies in the sudden shift in attitudes in October 2020, when after maintaining similarity for years, Republicans’ endorsements of violence suddenly leapt across every one of Kalmoe and Mason’s questions regarding the acceptability of violence; findings that were repeated in other polling. 22  In January 2020, 41 percent of Republicans agreed that “a time will come when patriotic Americans have to take the law into their own hands”; a year later, after the January 6 insurrection, 56 percent of Republicans agreed that “if elected leaders will not protect America, the people must do it themselves even if it requires taking violent action.” 23  Moral disengagement also spiked: By February 2021, more than two-thirds of Republicans (and half of Democrats) saw the other party as “downright evil,”; while 12 percent more Republicans believed Democrats were less than human than the other way around. 24

The false narrative of a stolen 2020 election clearly increased support for political violence. Those who believed the election was fraudulent were far more likely to endorse coups and armed citizen rebellion; by February 2021, a quarter of Republicans felt that it was at least “a little” justified to take over state government buildings with violence to advance their political goals. 25  This politically driven false narrative points to the role of politicians since 2016 in fueling the difference in violence between right and left. As has been found in Israel and Germany, domestic terrorists are emboldened by the belief that politicians encourage violence or that authorities will tolerate it. 26

It is not uncommon for politicians to incite communal violence to affect electoral outcomes. In northern Kenya, voters call this “war by remote control.” Incumbent leaders who fear losing are particularly prone to using electoral violence to intimidate potential opponents, build their base, affect voting behavior and election-day vote counts, and, failing all that, to keep themselves relevant or at least out of jail. 27  Communal violence can clear opposition voters from contested areas, altering the demographics of electoral districts, as happened in Kenya’s Rift Valley in 2007 and the U.S. South during Reconstruction. Violent intimidation   can keep voters away from the polls, as has occurred since the 1990s in Bangladesh; from the 1990s through 2013 in Pakistan; and in the U.S. South in the 1960s.

Communal violence often flares in contested districts where it is politically expedient, as in Kenya and India. Likewise, political violence in the United States has been greatest in suburbs where Asian American and Hispanic American immigration has been growing fastest, particularly in heavily Democratic metropoles surrounded by Republican-dominated rural areas. These areas, where white flight from the 1960s is meeting demographic change, are areas of social contestation. They are also politically contested swing districts. Most of the arrested January 6 insurrectionists hailed from these areas rather than from Trump strongholds. 28  Postelection violence can also be useful to politicians. They can manipulate angry voters who believe their votes were stolen into using violence to influence or block final counts or gain leverage in power-sharing negotiations, as occurred in Kenya in 2007 and Afghanistan in 2019.

Not all political violence directly serves an electoral purpose. Using violence to defend a group bonds members to the group. Thus violence is a particularly effective way to build voter “intensity.” In 1932, young black-clad militants of the British Union of Fascists roamed England’s streets, picking fights and harassing Jews. The leadership of the nascent party realized that its profile grew whenever the “blackshirts” got into violent confrontations. Two years later, the party held a rally of nearly fifteen-thousand people that became a brutal melee between blackshirts and antifascist protestors. After the clash (which was not fully spontaneous), people queued to join the party for the next two days and nights and membership soared. 29  As every organizer knows, effective mobilization requires keeping supporters engaged. Given the role of gun rights to Republican identity, armed rallies can mobilize supporters and expand fundraising. Yet even peaceful rallies of crowds carrying automatic weapons can intimidate people who hold opposing views.

Finally, politicians may personally benefit from violent mobilization that is not election-related. In South Africa, former president Jacob Zuma spent years cultivating ties with violent criminal groups in his home state of Kwa-Zulu Natal. 30  When he was out of office and on trial for corruption and facing jail time for contempt of court, he activated those connections to spur a round of violence and looting on a scale not seen in South Africa since apartheid. Vast inequality, unemployment, and other social causes allowed for plausible deniability—many looters with no political ties were just joining in the fracas. Zuma has, as of this writing, avoided imprisonment due to undisclosed “medical reasons.”

Electoral rules enable winning by exploiting identity cleavages:   The fissures in divided societies such as the United States can be either mitigated or enhanced by electoral systems. The U.S. electoral system comprises features that are correlated with greater violence globally. Winner-take-all elections are particularly prone to violence, possibly because small numbers of voters can shift outcomes. Two-party systems are also more correlated with violence than are multiparty systems, perhaps because they create us-them dynamics that deepen polarization. 31  Although multiparty systems allow more-extreme parties to gain representation, such as Alternative for Germany or Golden Dawn in Greece, they also enable other parties to work together against a common threat. The U.S. system is more brittle. A two-party system can prevent the representation of fringe views, as occurred for years in the United States—for example, American Independent Party candidate George Wallace won 14 percent of the popular vote in 1968 but no representation. Yet because party primaries tend to be low-turnout contests with highly partisan voters, small factions can gain outsized influence over a mainstream party. If that happens, extreme politicians can gain control over half of the political spectrum—leaving that party’s voters nowhere to turn.

Weak institutional constraints on violence:   The United States suffers from three particularly concerning institutional weaknesses today—the challenge of adjudicating disputes between the executive and legislative branches inherent in presidential majoritarian systems, recent legal decisions enhancing the electoral power of state legislatures, and the politicization of law enforcement and the courts.

Juan Linz famously noted that apart from the United States, few presidential majoritarian systems had survived as continuous democracies. One key reason was the problem of resolving disputes between the executive and legislative branches. Because both are popularly elected, when they are held by different parties stalemates between the two invite resolution through violence. Such a dynamic drove state-level electoral violence throughout the nineteenth century, not only in the Reconstruction South, but also in Pennsylvania, Maine, Rhode Island, and Colorado. It is thus particularly concerning that in the last year, nine states have passed laws to give greater power to partisan bodies, particularly state legislatures. 32  The U.S. Supreme Court has also made several recent decisions vesting greater power over elections in state legislatures. These trends are weakening institutional guardrails against future political violence.

When law and justice institutions are believed to lean toward one party or side of an identity cleavage, political violence becomes more likely. International cases reveal that groups that believe they can use violence without consequences are more likely to do so. The U.S. justice system, police, and military are far more professional and less politicized than those of most developing democracies that face widespread electoral violence. Longstanding perceptions that police favor one side are supported by Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) data showing that police used far greater force at left-wing protests than at right-wing protests throughout 2020. Despite this conservative ideological tilt, party affiliation and feelings were more complicated: Law enforcement was also a target of right-wing militias, and partisan affiliation (based on donations) had previously been mixed due to union membership and other cross-cutting identities that connected police to the Democratic Party. In 2020, however, donations from individual law enforcement officers to political parties increased, and they tilted far toward the Republican Party, suggesting that the polarizing events of 2020 have led them to sort themselves to the right and deepen their partisanship. 33

How to Counter the Trends

Interventions in five key areas could help defuse the threat of political violence in the United States: 1) election credibility, 2) electoral rules, 3) policing, 4) prevention and redirection, and 5) political speech. The steps best taken depend on who is in power and who is committing the violence. Technical measures to enhance election credibility and train police can reduce inadvertent violence from the state. But such technical solutions will fail if the party in power is inciting violence, as happens more often than not. In that case, behind-the-scenes efforts to help parties and leaders strike deals or mediate grievances can sometimes keep violence at bay. In Kenya, for instance, two opposing politicians accused of leading election violence in 2007 joined forces to run as president and vice-president; their alliance enabled a peaceful election in 2013. Ironically, strong institutions, low levels of corruption, and reductions in institutionalized methods of elite deal-making (such as Congressional earmarks) make such bargains more difficult in the United States. However, the United States is helped by its unusually high level of federalism in terms of elections and law enforcement, because if one part of “the state” is acting against reform, it may still be possible at another level.

More credible elections:   While there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 U.S. elections, international election experts agree that the U.S. electoral system is antiquated and prone to failure. The proposed Freedom to Vote Act, which enhances cybersecurity, protects election officers, provides a paper trail for ballots, and provides proper training and funding for election administration, among other measures, could offer the sort of bipartisan compromise that favors neither side and would shore up a problematic system. But if it is turned into a political cudgel, as is likely, it will fail to reassure voters, despite its excellent provisions.

Changing the electoral rules:  Whether politicians use violence as a campaign strategy is shaped by the nature of the electoral system. A seminal study on India by Steven Wilkinson suggests that where politicians need minority votes to win, they protect minorities; where they do not, they are more likely to incite violence. 34  By this logic, Section 2 of the U.S. Voting Rights Act of 1965, which allows for gerrymandering majority-minority districts to ensure African American representation in Congress, may inadvertently incentivize violence by making minority votes unnecessary for Republican wins in the remaining districts .  While minority representation is its own valuable democratic goal, creating districts where Republicans need minority votes to win—and where Democrats need white votes to win—might reduce the likelihood of violence.

Whether extremists get elected and whether voters feel represented or become disillusioned with the peaceful process of democracy can also be affected by electoral-system design. Thus postconflict countries often redesign electoral institutions. For example, a major plank of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended the Troubles in Northern Ireland involved introducing a type of ranked-choice voting with multimember districts to increase a sense of representation. There are organizations in the United States today that are advocating various reform measures—for example, eliminating primaries and introducing forms of ranked-choice voting or requiring lawmakers to win a majority of votes to be elected (currently the case in only a handful of states)—that could result in fewer extremists gaining power while increasing voter satisfaction and representation.

Fairer policing and accountability:  Even in contexts of high polarization, external deterrence and societal norms generally keep people from resorting to political violence. Partisans who are tempted to act violently should know that they will be held accountable, even if their party is in power. Minority communities, meanwhile, need assurance that the state will defend them.

A number of police-reform measures could help. Police training in de-escalation techniques and nonviolent protest and crowd control, support for officers under psychological strain, improved intelligence collection and sharing regarding domestic threats, and more-representative police forces would all help deter both political violence and police brutality. Publicizing such efforts would demonstrate to society that the government will not tolerate political violence.

Meanwhile, swift justice for violence, incitement, and credible threats against officials—speedy jail sentences, for instance, even if short—is also crucial for its signaling and deterrent value. So are laws that criminalize harassment, intimidation, and political violence.

Prevention and redirection:  Lab experiments have found that internal norms can be reinforced by “inoculating” individuals with warnings that people may one day try to indoctrinate them to extremist beliefs or recruit them to participate in acts of political violence. Because no one likes to be manipulated, the forewarned organize their mental defenses against it. The technique seems promising for preventing younger people from radicalization, though it requires more testing among older partisans whose beliefs are strongly set. 35

A significant portion of those engaged in far-right violence are also under mental distress. People searching online for far-right violent extremist content are 115 percent more likely to click on mental-health ads; those undertaking planned hate crimes show greater signs of mental illness than does the general offender population. 36  Groups such as Moonshot CVE are experimenting with targeted ads that can redirect people searching for extremist content toward hotlines for depression and loneliness and help for leaving violent groups.

Political speech:   When political leaders denounce violence from their own side, partisans listen. Experiments using quotes from Biden and Trump show that leaders’ rhetoric has the power to de-escalate and deter violence—if they are willing to speak against their own side. 37

Long-term trends in social and political-party organization, isolation, distrust, and inequality, capped by a pandemic, have placed individual psychological health and social cohesion under immense strain. Kalmoe and Mason’s surveys found that in February 2021, a fifth of Republicans and 13 percent of Democrats—or more than 65 million people—believed immediate violence was justified. Even if only a tiny portion are serious, such large numbers put a country at risk of stochastic terrorism—that is, it becomes statistically near certain that someone (though it is impossible to predict who) somewhere will act if a public figure incites violence.

Thus while social factors may have created the conditions, politicians have the match to light the tinder. In recent years, some candidates on the right have been particularly willing to use violent speech and engage with groups that spread hate. Yet Democrats are not immune to these trends. Far-left violence is far lower than on the right, but rising. The firearm industry’s trade association found that, in 2020, 40 percent of all legal gun sales were to first-time buyers, and 58 percent of those five-million new owners were women and African Americans. 38  Kalmoe and Mason’s February 2020 polling found that 11 percent of Democrats and 12 percent of Republicans agreed that it was at least “a little” justified to kill opposing political leaders to advance their own political goals. With both the left and the right increasingly armed, viewing the other side as evil or subhuman, and believing political violence to be justified, the possibility grows of tit-for-tat street warfare, like the clashes between antifascist protesters and Proud Boys in Portland, Oregon, from 2020 through this writing. If Democrats have been less likely to act on these beliefs, it is likely because Democratic politicians have largely and vocally spoken out against violence.

Although political violence in the United States is on the rise, it is still lower than in many other countries. Once violence begins, however, it fuels itself. Far from making people turn away in horror, political violence in the present is the greatest factor normalizing it for the future. Preventing a downward spiral is therefore imperative.

1. “Election Officials Under Attack: How to Protect Administrators and Safeguard Democracy,” Brennan Center for Justice, 16 June 2021,  www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/BCJ-129%20ElectionOfficials_v7.pdf ; “Documenting and Addressing Harassment of Election Officials,” California Voter Foundation, June 2021,  www.calvoter.org/sites/default/files/cvf_addressing_harassment_of_election_officials_report.pdf ; Zach Montellaro, “‘Center of the Maelstrom’: Election Officials Grapple with 2020’s Long Shadow,” Politico,  18 August 2021.

2. See the Global Terrorism Database maintained by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland, the dataset of extremist far-right violent incidents maintained by Arie Perliger at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and FBI data on hate crimes.

3. Robert O’Harrow, Jr., Andrew Ba Tran, and Derek Hawkins, “The Rise of Domestic Extremism in America,”  Washington Post,  12 April 2021.

4. Robert Pape and the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, “Understanding American Domestic Terrorism: Mobilization Potential and Risk Factors of a New Threat Trajectory” (presentation, University of Chicago, 6 April 2021),  https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/cpost/i/docs/americas_insurrectionists_online_2021_04_06.pdf?mtime=1617807009.

5. Daniel A. Cox, “Social Isolation and Community Disconnection Are Not Spurring Conspiracy Theories,” Survey Center on American Life, 4 March 2021,  www.americansurveycenter.org/research/social-isolation-and-community-disconnection-are-not-spurring-conspiracy-theories ; Paul A. Djupe and Ryan P. Burge, “A Conspiracy at the Heart of It: Religion and Q,” Religion in Public blog, 6 November 2020,  https://religioninpublic.blog/2020/11/06/a-conspiracy-at-the-heart-of-it-religion-and-q .

6. Daniel A. Cox, “After the Ballots Are Counted: Conspiracies, Political Violence, and American Exceptionalism,” Survey Center on American Life, 11 February 2021,  www.americansurveycenter.org/research/after-the-ballots-are-counted-conspiracies-political-violence-and-american-exceptionalism ; Larry M. Bartels, “Ethnic Antagonism Erodes Republicans’ Commitment to Democracy,”  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences  117 (September 2020): 22752–59.

7. Nathan P. Kalmoe and Lilliana Mason,  Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, forthcoming [2022]), 105, 109.

8. Daniel A. Cox, “Support for Political Violence Among Americans Is on the Rise. It’s a Grim Warning About America’s Political Future,” American Enterprise Institute, 26 March 2021,  www.aei.org/op-eds/support-for-political-violence-among-americans-is-on-the-rise-its-a-grim-warning-about-americas-political-future ; Bartels, “Ethnic Antagonism Erodes Republicans’ Commitment to Democracy”; Sonia Roccas and Marilynn B. Brewer, “Social Identity Complexity,”  Personality and Social Psychology Review 6 (May 2002): 86–102.

9. Susan Olzak, “The Political Context of Competition: Lynching and Urban Racial Violence, 1882–1914,”  Social Forces 69 (December 2020): 395–421; Ryan Hagen, Kinga Makovi, and Peter Bearman, “The Influence of Political Dynamics on Southern Lynch Mob Formation and Lethality,”  Social Forces 92 (December 2013): 757-87.

10. Brad Epperly, Christopher Witko, Ryan Strickler, and Paul White, “Rule by Violence, Rule by Law: Lynching, Jim Crow, and the Continuing Evolution of Voter Suppression in the U.S.,”  Perspectives on Politics 18 (September 2020): 756-69.

11. Sarah Birch, Ursula Daxecker, and Kristine Hӧglund, “Electoral Violence: An Introduction,”  Journal of Peace Research 57 (January 2020): 3–14.

12. Steven I. Wilkinson,  Votes and Violence: Electoral Competition and Ethnic Riots in India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).

13. Frances E. Lee,  Insecure Majorities :  Congress and the Perpetual Campaign (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016).

14. Lilliana Mason,  Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018).

15. Tyler T. Reny, Loren Collingwood, and Ali A. Valenzuela, “Vote Switching in the 2016 Election: How Racial and Immigration Attitudes, Not Economics, Explain Shifts in White Voting,”  Public Opinion Quarterly  83 (Spring 2019): 91–113; John Sides, Michael Tesler, and Lynn Vavreck,  Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America  (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018).

16. Bruce Stokes, “What It Takes to Truly Be ‘One of Us,’” Pew Research Center, 1 February 2017,  www.pewresearch.org/global/2017/02/01/what-it-takes-to-truly-be-one-of-us ; Emily Ekins, “The Five Types of Trump Voters: Who They Are and What They Believe,” Democracy Fund Voter Study Group, June 2017,  www.voterstudygroup.org/publication/the-five-types-trump-voters .

17. Costas Panagopoulos, “All About That Base: Changing Campaign Strategies in U.S. Presidential Elections,”  Party Politics  22 (March 2016): 179–90.

18. Pablo Fajnzylber, Daniel Lederman, and Norman Loayza, “Inequality and Violent Crime,” Journal of Law and Economics 45 (April 2002): 1–39; James V. P. Check, Daniel Perlman, and Neil M. Malamuth, “Loneliness and Aggressive Behavior,”  Journal of Social and Personal Relationships  2 (September 1985): 243–52; Mark Schaller and Justin H. Park, “The Behavioral Immune System (and Why It Matters),”  Current Directions in Psychological Science  20 (April 2011): 99–103.

19. Eitan Hersh and Laura Royden, “Antisemitic Attitudes Across the Ideological Spectrum,” 9 April 2021, unpubl ms., www.eitanhersh.com/uploads/7/9/7/5/7975685/hersh_royden_antisemitism_040921.pdf .

20. Kalmoe and Mason,  Radical American Partisanship ; Noelle Malvar et al., “Democracy for President: A Guide to How Americans Can Strengthen Democracy During a Divisive Election,” More in Common, October 2020,  https://democracyforpresident.com/topics/election-violence.

21. The Democracy Fund’s 2019 VOTER Survey shows 10-point gaps for each in December 2019; however, monthly Kalmoe and Mason polling shows no gap, and Bright Line Watch polling in 2020 shows splits of less than 6 and 3 percent for identically worded questions.

22. Kalmoe and Mason,  Radical American Partisanship,  83–90.

23. Bartels, “Ethnic Antagonism Erodes Republicans’ Commitment to Democracy”; Cox, “Support for Political Violence.”

24. Kalmoe and Mason,  Radical American Partisanship,  86.

25. Kalmoe and Mason,  Radical American Partisanship, 164, 90.

26. Arie Perliger, “Terror Isn’t Always a Weapon of the Weak—It Can Also Support the Powerful,”  The Conversation,  28 October 2018,  https://theconversation.com/terror-isnt-always-a-weapon-of-the-weak-it-can-also-support-the-powerful-82626 .

27. Ken Menkhaus,  Conflict Assessment: Northern Kenya and Somaliland  (Copenhagen: Danish Deming Group, 2015), 42; Thad Dunning, “Fighting and Voting: Violent Conflict and Electoral Politics,”  Journal of Conflict Resolution 55 (June 2011): 327–39.

28. Arie Perliger, “Why Do Hate Crimes Proliferate in Progressive Blue States?” Medium, 20 August 2020,  https://medium.com/3streams/why-hate-crimes-proliferate-in-progressive-blue-state-72483b2d72a7 ; Pape and Chicago Project, “Understanding American Domestic Terrorism.”

29. Martin Pugh, “The British Union of Fascists and the Olympia Debate,” Historical Journal 41 (June 1998): 529–42.

30. Gavin Evans, “Why Political Killings Have Taken Hold—Again—In South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal,”  The Conversation, 10 August 2020,  https://theconversation.com/why-political-killings-have-taken-hold-again-in-south-africas-kwazulu-natal-143908 .

31. G. Bingham Powell, Jr., “Party Systems and Political System Performance: Voting Participation, Government Stability and Mass Violence in Contemporary Democracies,”  American Political Science Review  75, no. 4 (1981): 861–79; Hanne Fjelde and Kristine Höglund, “Electoral Institutions and Electoral Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa,”  British Journal of Political Science 46 (April 2016): 297–320.

32. Quinn Scanlan, “10 New State Laws Shift Power Over Elections to Partisan Entities,” ABC News, 16 August 2021,  https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dozen-state-laws-shift-power-elections-partisan-entities/story?id=79408455 ; “Democracy Crisis Report Update: New Data and Trends Show the Warning Signs Have Intensified in the Last Two Months,” States United Democracy Center, Protect Democracy, and Law Forward, 10 June 2021, https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Democracy-Crisis-Part-II_June-10_Final_v7.pdf .

33. Phillip Bump, “Police Made a Lot More Contributions in 2020 Than Normal—Mostly to Republicans,”  Washington Post,  25 February 2021.

34. Wilkinson,  Votes and Violence.

35. Kurt Braddock, “Vaccinating Against Hate: Using Inoculation to Confer Resistance to Persuasion by Extremist Propaganda,”  Terrorism and Political Violence (2019), 1–23.

36. “Mental Health and Violent Extremism,” Moonshot CVE, 28 June 2018,  https://moonshotteam.com/mental-health-violent-extremism ; Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) dataset, Global Terrorism Database.

37. Kalmoe and Mason,  Radical American Partisanship,  180-87; Matthew A. Baum and Tim Groeling, “Shot by the Messenger: Partisan Cues and Public Opinion Regarding National Security and War,”  Political Behavior 31 (June 2009): 157–86; Susan Birch and David Muchlinski, “Electoral Violence Prevention: What Works?”  Democratization 25 (April 2018): 385–403.

38. “First-Time Gun Buyers Grow to Nearly 5 Million in 2020,” Fire Arms Industry Trade Association, 24 August 2020,  www.nssf.org/articles/first-time-gun-buyers-grow-to-nearly-5-million-in-2020 .

Copyright © 2021 National Endowment for Democracy and Johns Hopkins University Press

Image Credit: lev radin/Shutterstock.com.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Discrimination — Political Violence, Its Definition, Forms, And Factors

Political Violence, Its Definition, Forms, and Factors

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Words: 1646 |

Published: Mar 18, 2021

Words: 1646 | Pages: 4 | 9 min read

Works Cited

• Biddle, S. (2018). The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder. Princeton University Press.
• Brancati, D. (2018). Democracy Protests: Origins, Features, and Significance. Cambridge University Press.
• Goldstone, J. A. (2018). Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World. University of California Press.
• Gurr, T. R. (1970). Why Men Rebel. Princeton University Press.
• Hobsbawm, E. J. (1962). The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789-1848. Vintage.
• Kalyvas, S. N. (2006). The Logic of Violence in Civil War. Cambridge University Press.
• Mueller, J. (2017). Terrorism, Security, and Money: Balancing the Risks, Benefits, and Costs of Homeland Security. Oxford University Press.
• Oberschall, A. (2000). The Manipulation of Ethnicity: From Ethnic Cooperation to Violence and War in Yugoslavia. Columbia University Press.
• Pape, R. A. (2005). Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. Random House.
• Tilly, C. (2003). The Politics of Collective Violence. Cambridge University Press.

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Articles on Political violence

Displaying 1 - 20 of 73 articles.

Why rural white Americans’ resentment is a threat to democracy

Thomas F. Schaller , University of Maryland, Baltimore County

US democracy’s unaddressed flaws undermine Biden’s stand as democracy’s defender − but Trump keeps favoring political violence

Dayna Cunningham , Tufts University and Peter Levine , Tufts University

Chad presidential election: assassination of main opposition figure casts doubt on country’s return to democracy

Helga Dickow , University of Freiburg

Pakistan election: the military has long meddled in the country’s politics – this year will be no different

Sameen Mohsin Ali , University of Birmingham

Jan. 6 was an example of networked incitement − a media and disinformation expert explains the danger of political violence orchestrated over social media

Joan Donovan , Boston University

Mangosuthu Buthelezi: the Zulu nationalist who left his mark on South Africa’s history

Henning Melber , University of Pretoria

Bandits in Nigeria: how protection payments to militias escalate conflict in the  north-west

Imrana Buba , University of Oslo

Americans in former Confederate states more likely to say violent protest against government is justified, 160 years after Gettysburg

Alauna Safarpour , Northeastern University

How pardoning extremists undermines the rule of law

Michael H. Becker , American University

Sudan crisis explained: What’s behind the latest fighting and how it fits nation’s troubled past

Christopher Tounsel , University of Washington

Trump’s latest personal attacks on judges could further weaken people’s declining trust in American rule of law

Paul M. Collins Jr. , UMass Amherst and Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha , University of North Texas

A string of assassinations in Afghanistan point to ISIS-K resurgence – and US officials warn of possible attacks on American interests in next 6 months

Andrew Mines , George Washington University and Amira Jadoon , Clemson University

I went to CPAC to take MAGA supporters’ pulse – China and transgender people are among the top ‘demons’ they say are ruining the country

Alexander Hinton , Rutgers University - Newark

Violent extremists are not lone wolves – dispelling this myth could help reduce violence

Genocides persist, nearly 70 years after the Holocaust – but there are recognized ways to help prevent them

Kerry Whigham , Binghamton University, State University of New York

How a divided America, including the 15% who are ‘MAGA Republicans,’ splits on QAnon, racism and armed patrols at polling places

Garen Wintemute , University of California, Davis

Imran Khan shot: How attack will affect protest campaign led by Pakistan’s ousted leader

Ayesha Jalal , Tufts University

Political violence in America isn’t going away anytime soon

Richard Forno , University of Maryland, Baltimore County

White nationalism is a political ideology that mainstreams racist conspiracy theories

Sara Kamali , University of California, Santa Barbara

Drivers of electoral violence in Kenya: red flags to watch out for

Emma Elfversson , Uppsala University

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Political violence, collective functioning and health: A review of the literature

Cindy a. sousa.

Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Bryn Mawr, PA, USA

Political violence is implicated in a range of mental health outcomes, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety. The social and political contexts of people’s lives, however, offer considerable protection from the mental health effects of political violence. In spite of the importance of people’s social and political environments for health, there is limited scholarship on how political violence compromises necessary social and political systems and inhibits individuals from participating in social and political life. Drawing on literature from multiple disciplines, including public health, anthropology, and psychology, this narrative review uses a multi-level, social ecological framework to enhance current knowledge about the ways that political violence affects health. Findings from over 50 studies were analyzed and used to build a conceptual model demonstrating how political violence threatens three inter-related domains of functioning: individual functioning in relationship to their environment; community functioning and social fabric; and governmental functioning and delivery of services to populations. Results illustrate the need for multilevel frameworks that move beyond individual pathology towards more nuanced conceptualizations about how political violence affects health; findings contribute to the development of prevention programs addressing political violence.

Introduction

Political violence is the deliberate use of power and force to achieve political goals ( World Health Organization (WHO), 2002 ). As outlined by the World Health Organization (2002) , political violence is characterized by both physical and psychological acts aimed at injuring or intimidating populations. Examples include shootings or aerial bombardments; detentions; arrests and torture; and home demolitions (Basoglu, Livanou, & Crnobaric, 2005; Clark et al., 2010; K. de Jong et al., 2002 ; E. F. Dubow et al., 2010 ; Farwell, 2004; Giacaman, Shannon, Saab, Arya, & Boyce, 2007 ; Hobfoll, Hall, & Canetti, 2012). The WHO definition of political violence also includes deprivation, the deliberate denial of basic needs and human rights. Examples include obstruction related to freedom of speech (e.g. activists who speak out against a regime being subject to torture (see, for instance, Robben, 2005 )), and denial of access to food, education, sanitation, and healthcare (for instance, see International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 1949; UNESCO, 2006; UNESCO: International Program for the Development of Communication (IPDC), 2012; United Nations Population Fund, 2007).

Particularly when we look at dimensions of deprivation within political violence, it is clear that political violence is intimately related to structural violence : the ways that structures of society (e.g. educational, legal, cultural, healthcare) insidiously act as “social machinery of oppression” ( Farmer, 2006 : 307) to regularly, systematically, and intentionally prohibit the realization of full human potential through unequal arrangements of social, economic, and political power ( Farmer, et al ., 2004 , 2006 ; Galtung, 1969 ). Indeed, it is overwhelmingly clear that structural violence often precipitates, coexists with, and is deployed as a regular tool within political violence. Structural inequalities based, for instance, on class, nationalities, or ethnic groups often lead to political uprisings and rebellions and then to the yielding of power through violent repressions that characterize political violence ( Cairns, et al ., 1998 ; de Jong, 2010 ). In addition, it is usually the poorest and most disenfranchised that suffer the most within wars and conflicts as they are particularly targeted and/or face oppression and violence within a multitude of overlapping experiences (see, for instance: Al Gasseer, 2004 ; Berg, 2009 ; Lykes, et al ., 2007 ; UNRISD (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development), 2005 ). Furthermore, political violence in the forms of repression, torture, and forced exile is often leveled specifically towards those who pose the most threat to the prevailing and oppressive social order (see, for instance: Blum, 2005; Esparza, 2005 ; Robben, 2005 ). Despite their mutual influence, authors, including Galtung (1969) , who is widely credited with developing the initial framework for structural violence ( Farmer, 2004 ), have proposed a few key points of differentiation between structural and political violence: whereas structural, “indirect” violence is covert, static, and lacks a clear aggressor, “direct” violence (what Galtung terms “personal violence”, but would also include political violence) is overt, dynamic, and connects a discernable aggressor with the victim ( Galtung, 1969 ; Vorobej, 2008 ; Winter and Leighton, 2001 ). Although its relationship to structural violence will be clear as findings are presented below (and, in fact, the uncovering of this dynamic is one of the contributions of this overview), the research presented here centers on political violence, as defined above.

A considerable amount of research has examined how political violence is implicated in a variety of poor outcomes related to mental health, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety ( Punamaki, 1990 , Summerfield, 2000 , de Jong et al, 2003 , Barber, 2008 , de Jong et al ., 2008 , Haj-Yahia, 2008 ). The WHO, for example, estimates that between one-third to one-half of people exposed to political violence will endure some type of mental distress, including PTSD, depression or anxiety ( World Health Organization (WHO), 2001 ). In spite of these risks, however, we know that individuals and communities regularly manage the traumas of political violence as they demonstrate considerable resilience (Summerfield, 1999). Resilience- the successful recovery from or adaptation to hardship ( Agaibi, 2005 ; Masten, et al ., 1990 ) – is not an anomaly, but rather, is a predictable reaction to stress for both individuals and collectives ( Bonanno, 2004 ; Norris, Stevens, Pfefferbaum, Wyche, & Pfefferbaum, 2008 ). While some individual traits may build resilience in the face of political violence (for reviews of these, see Betancourt and Khan, 2008 ; Masten, et al ., 2012 ; Sousa, et al ., 2013), resilience ultimately depends on the relationship between people and their social and political environments ( Masten, et al ., 2008 ; Shinn and Toohey, 2003 ; Ungar, 2011b ). Individuals’ involvement in collectives, cohesive community networks, and democratic, responsive governmental systems are each central to health and well-being ( Garbarino, 2011 ; Hobfoll et al ., 2007 ; Katz, 2001 ; Nowell and Boyd, 2010 ; Pfeiffer et al ., 2008 ; Ungar, 2011a ; World Health Organization, 2008 ).

For populations affected by political violence, resources within the environment (e.g., schools, community institutions, opportunities for social and political engagement, responsive public systems, and governmental accountability for atrocities committed against civilian populations) appear to offer protection against the deleterious impacts of political violence on health ( Berk, 1998 , Farwell and Cole, 2001 , Lykes et al ., 2007 , Betancourt et al ., 2010 , Melton and Sianko, 2010 ). In spite of what we know, however, about the potential for social and political contexts to build resilience, there is limited health scholarship on how political violence threatens the individual-environment relationship, which we know is core to well-being ( Kemp et al ., 1997 ; Melton and Sianko, 2010 ). While it is increasingly recognized that political violence is a collective experience ( Martín-Baró et al ., 1994 , Summerfield, 2000 , Nelson, 2003 , Robben, 2005 , Giacaman et al ., 2007c ), we know more about its influence on individuals than we do about the ways it affects the larger groups, organizations, and government structures that underpin health and well-being.

However, particularly when we look across disciplines, there does exist some evidence about how political violence affects the dynamic relationships between individuals and the collective. This scholarship coincides with an increased attention to multilevel perspectives that transcend individual pathology through emphasizing social and political determinants of health ( Krieger, 2001 , 2008 ; Williams, 2002). Social ecological frameworks are particularly important for examinations of political violence because the violence simultaneously affects multiple domains related to individual and collective well-being ( Hoffman & Kruczek, 2011 ; Martinez & Eiroa-Orosa, 2010 ), as it causes what Edelman, et al. (2003) refer to as the sociopolitical effects of political violence. Due to their comprehensive scope, multi-level frameworks enrich both scholarship on and intervention planning for political violence (Dubow et al ., 2009; Tol, 2010 ). Accordingly, this review aims to enhance the literature on political violence by examining and synthesizing literature from across multiple disciplines to improve our understandings about the implications of political violence for collective well-being.

The term collective in this review refers to three inter-related domains of functioning: individuals’ ability to participate in social and political life; community functioning and social fabric; and governmental functioning and delivery of services to populations (see Figure 1 ). These three domains, which were built and clarified through the process of synthesizing the literature for the review, represent the central organizing framework for this paper. In line with Brofenbrenner’s theories (1986), which referred to bidirectional relationships between domains of functioning as mesosystems , this review also considers how political violence harms the relationship between areas of collective functioning. For instance, it considers how political violence might affect governmental functioning, which then weakens individuals’ willingness to engage in political life.

Domains of collective functioning

For both local and outside researchers alike, within political violence there is little assurance for the safety or the stability and infrastructure needed for extended fieldwork, or for in-depth, large-scale, and/or longitudinal studies. Furthermore, as Krieger (2008) asserts, as a whole, social ecological examinations of health are still new, and accordingly, there are still ongoing deliberations regarding some of the core constructs like proximal , distal , and level . Although political violence, with its multi-level repercussions, demonstrates the need for social ecological perspectives, its complex nature, variations in its expression across locations and time points, and the range of evidence required for sound evaluation of its effects across levels (particularly at the collective level) all present special challenges for research. With these issues in mind, this review deliberately utilizes an integrated design to draw on findings from across disciplines (including public health, anthropology, geography, sociology, and psychology) and methodologies (for more on the advantages and disadvantags of integrated review studies, see Sandelowski, M., Voils, C. I., & Barroso, J., 2006 ; Voils, Sandelowski, Barroso, & Hasselblad, 2008 ). The variety of disciplines and methods represented in this review illustrate the importance of scholarship that is qualitative in nature, that is the product of reflections from professionals with extended time in the field, and/or that are overviews resulting from authors’ analyses of official reports or statistics, architecture, policies or programs, or historical events. Although aspects of systemic review processes were employed (evident in the explanation of the search strategy described below), this is a narrative review. A narrative format was chosen due the advantages it offers in terms of drawing on a wide array of disciplines and methods of inquiry, and its consequent fit with integrated approaches to reviews of literature (for more on the importance of narrative reviews, see for instance, Murphy, 2012 ).

To meet inclusion criteria, articles must be peer reviewed, published in English, and address the research question of how political violence directly affects individuals’ abilities to interact with collective structures or the collective structures themselves (e.g. community and governmental functioning). Psychinfo and PubMed databases were searched in 2011 using the key term “political violence”, resulting in 323 and 617 articles, respectively. Pubmed was searched using “war + infrastructure”, resulting in 309 articles (political violence + infrastructure only resulted in 17 articles so the search was done with the key term war instead of political violence). To further ensure representation of social science disciplines (and to provide a more updated search timeframe), an additional search was done in ProQuest in 2013 (limited to peer-reviewed sources), using the key words “political violence;” this resulted in 739 papers (many of which were duplicates on the original searches) that were searched, again first at the level of the title and the brief view of the abstract (where the search terms are highlighted in their context) and then at the level of the abstract. Excluding repeated articles, more than 1200 titles were initially reviewed, first based on their titles and then their abstracts.

Specific searches were also done within journals closely related to political violence (e.g. Conflict and Health, Disasters) or those with special issues or considerable space dedicated to political violence (e.g. Social Science and Medicine, Qualitative Sociology, Human Geography). Grey literature, author’s databases, and reference lists of published literature on related topics were also used; in this way, literature from relevant books were included and the search reached more deeply into the fields of geography and anthropology. Literature was not selected if it did not either address how political violence affects individuals’ involvement in the collective or reflect findings about how political violence affects collective structures (e.g., schools, healthcare, government systems, community well-being); for example, literature was rejected if it focused on the causes, rather than effects, of political violence; on the individual mental health implications of political violence; or solely on interventions related to political violence. In the end, fifty-three articles and 9 books or book sections were retained for review and analysis.

Investigation and synthesis of the literature resulted in the establishment of three broad categories of collective functioning (each containing several sub-themes): (1) individuals’ ability to participate in social and political life; (2) community functioning and social fabric; and (3) governmental functioning. The review is organized according to these three domains. The discussion provides an analysis of the effects of political violence across these three domains. Table 1 illustrates the central organizing framework for the findings, and shows the number, methods, and locations of studies with respect to the three domains of collective functioning investigated. Table 2 provides the locations and descriptions of political violence provided by authors included in this review.

Phenomena, Methodology, Number * , and Locations of Studies

List of locations & short explanation of political violence, as reported by study authors *

Influence of political violence on individual functioning in relationship to their envirornment

Participation in civil society and political processes is essential for the health and well-being of individuals ( World Health Organization, 2008 ). It engenders a sense of responsibility for collective functioning, enhancing individual well-being ( Nowell and Boyd, 2010 ). Political violence undermines individuals’ ability to engage with, and have confidence in, social and political life by: contributing to individuals’ isolation and withdrawal from society; deteriorating individuals’ trust in others, justice, and government entities and democracy itself; and lessening individuals’ abilities or willingness to engage in political activities.

Distrust, isolation, and withdrawal are consequences of political violence. Robben (2005) reported that political violence in Argentina inhibited individuals from interacting with others for collective purposes. Withdrawal, suspicion, mistrust and isolation of members from larger community and social life due to political violence were reported by Esparza (2005) , Lykes, et al. (2007) and Flores, et al. (2009) , who each examined political violence in Guatemala. Withdrawal, distrust and isolation were also reported from an array of research locations, including Dillenburger, et al. in Ireland (2008) , Snider in Peru (2004) , Skidmore in Burma (2003) , and Jenkins’ research among refugees from El Salvador (1991) . Morina and Ford’s research in Kosovo found 34.3% of participants reported symptoms of damaged relationships, including distrust and withdrawal (2008) . De Jong, et al.’s research in the Indian Kashmir Valley (2008) found isolation, aggressive behavior, and ceasing to speak to people were the most commonly reported mechanisms used by respondents to cope with political violence (64.1%, 46.1%, and 36.9%, respectively), far above seeking support from family (12.4%) or talking to others (22.9%). Findings of isolation, mistrust and withdrawal resulting from political violence is consistent with scholars’ conclusions that mental health problems resulting from political violence rupture people’s ability to access help from their social environments ( de Zulueta, 2007 ).

Political violence diminishes individuals’ trust in the moral organization of society, government entities and processes of democracy. Lykes, et al.’s study in Guatemala found the complicity of people’s own governments in political violence decreased individuals’ trust towards community and organizational processes (2007). This was also found by Flores, et al. in Guatemala (2009) and Tully in Nicaragua (1995) , who reported distrust in institutions and systems of justice arose from political violence. Basoglu, el al. (2005c) found the trauma of war in Former Yugoslavia was compounded by participants’ perceptions that those responsible were not brought to justice. This conviction was associated with a drop in survivors’ belief in the basic goodness of people and a just order. Dillenburger, et al.’s (2008) study of political violence in Ireland found lasting bitterness among people towards larger society fueled by violence and the perception that perpetrators were not held accountable. This diminished belief in goodness of people and a just order, in turn, reduced people’s belief in democracy.

Political violence lessens the willingness of individuals to engage in political activities, including community organizing. Lykes, et al. (2007) found Mayan peasants in Guatemala targeted with violence due to their political organizing reported a preoccupation with defeatist and negative thoughts about community organizing as a result of political violence. Robben (2005) found that in Argentina torture was used against individuals to deter them from political engagement. Individuals may curtail social action to try to protect themselves from political violence, as reported by Skidmore in Burma (2003) and Esparza in Guatemala (2005) . And, this disengagement may indeed offer psychological protection against the traumas of political violence, as found in Jones, et al.’s (2002) examination of political violence and engagement in political processes in Bosnia Herzegovina.

Influence of political violence on community functioning

Community is usually defined as a network of connections, often centered in a physical location, that encompass shared beliefs, circumstances, concerns and relationships ( Chaskin, 2001 ). Community strength and connectedness is essential for the health and well-being of individuals, particularly when they are exposed to massive human tragedies ( Hobfoll et al ., 2007 , Ungar, 2011a ). Scholars propose communities function well due to collective efficacy, a combination of social cohesion, and the ability of the collective to operate as a unit that can affect change for the common good ( Sampson, 2003 , 2006 ). Political violence not only lessens individuals’ abilities to act within their communities, it also undermines the social foundations of a society ( Summerfield, 2000 ), rupturing social fabric (collective histories, identities and values ( Pedersen, 2002 )) and often engendering collective senses of fear ( Bar-Tal, et al ., 2007 ). Studies reveal political violence deteriorates community functioning and social fabric by: (1) damaging community as a shared physical location of people, culture and identity through mass killings and displacement, destruction of meaningful places, and control of space and movement and (2) changing the overall climate and functioning of communities through instillation of collective fear and terror, destruction of networks, and diminishment of community organizing activities.

Mass killings were reported by Oslender in Colombia (2007) , Duliá in Croatia (2006) , and Jenkins in El Salvador (1991) . Lykes, et al. (2007) report that in Guatemala, more than half of those killed were murdered in "group massacres aimed at destroying the whole community." Pedersen, et al. (2008) and Snider (2004) each conclude that in Peru, mass graves serve as visual reminders the target was not an individual but masses of people. Disappearances were reported by Robben (2005) , Tully (1995) and Jenkins (1991) in Argentina, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, respectively. Massive displacement and migration due to political violence diminishes local and national networks, with scholars estimating the majority of the world’s 12 million refugees and 22 to 25 million internally displaced persons are fleeing political violence ( Pedersen, 2002 , Sidel and Levy, 2008 ). Massive displacement, internal and outward migration were reported as consequences of political violence by Dillenburger, et al. (2008) , Carballo, et al. (2004) , de Jong, et al. (2002) , Pedersen, et al. (2008) , Ugalde, et al. (2000) , and Jones, et al. (2005) in their studies in Ireland, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Peru, El Salvador and Zimbabwe. Evans-Campbell, et al. (2008) concluded forced displacement of American Indian children into boarding schools, adoptions and foster care has lasting consequences for communities, including loss of language and traditional practices and potential future leaders, ultimately jeopardizing the ability of a community to envision or plan its collective future.

Physical environments nurture communities by facilitating and rooting relationships and fulfilling needs for safety, comfort, and collective identity, history, and pride ( Low and Altman, 1992 , Fullilove, 1996 ). These are central to the dynamic relationship between person and environment, “mutually constituting entities (Kemp, forthcoming).” Violich (1998) concluded physical destruction caused by political violence in Croatia diminished the sense of unity and collectivity. Coward, who examined the destruction of urban spaces (or urbicide ) in Bosnia within political violence, concluded there is a "certain kinship" between urbicide and genocide; physical destruction is intimately related to cultural destruction of peoples ( Coward 2004 ). Acts of political violence include the demolitions of homes and businesses and the destruction of entire villages. Giacaman, et al. (2004) reported 31% to 87% of homes or businesses within the five villages studied in Palestine were destroyed due to Israeli invasions. Lykes, et al., (2007) reported that in Guatemala, acts of political violence included destruction of more than 400 villages.

Destruction of meaningful places representing community, culture and religion is an assault against collective identity. Sacred sites include places of communal space or land with shared historical and religious meaning; closures, take-overs and bombings represent particular, deliberate wounds to the cultural and spiritual lives of the community, as Coward (2004) , Gregory (2008) and Violich (1998) found in Bosnia, Iraq and Croatia. Trauma to sacred sites may include denigration of the land itself through dumping of hazardous materials, as noted by Evans-Campbell, et al.’s research with American Indian and Alaska Native populations (2008) . Destruction of collective land may be particularly harmful for indigenous populations whose attachment to the land may represent particular sets of social relations, as Lykes (1997) found in Guatemala.

Control of physical space and the populations therein is a primary objective of political violence ( Graham, 2004 , Gregory, 2008 ). In Feldman’s (2003) study of urban geography in Ireland, findings showed one-way streets and cul-de-sacs, roads with no escape where fighting parties are easily trapped, are fundamental to the militarization of space. Segal, et al. (2003) , Weizman (2007) , Gregory (2008) , Skidmore (2003) and Turshen (1986) found in Palestine, Iraq, Burma, and South Africa that military roads, checkpoints, barricades, and networks symbolize and actualize control over territories where populations were previously free to move through space. This included the forced movement of communities into enclaves, Bantustans, and reservations in Palestine, South Africa and North America ( Turshen, 1986 , Shalhoub-Kevorkian, 2006 , Evans-Campbell, 2008 ). In Skidmore’s (2003) research in Burma, control over space, beyond practical and immediate consequences, is also described as “symbolic violence and aggression” with the intent to disorient a population and engender fear and terror. Giacaman, et al. (2007b) , Shalhoub-Kevorkian (2006) , Pedersen, et al. (2008) , Jenkins (1991) , Gregory (2008) , and Tol, et al. (2010) found in Palestine, Peru, El Salvador, Iraq and Nepal, constant control and surveillance of space through blockades, checkpoints, and roadblocks not only curtailed physical activities (access to health care and education, economic trade) but activities of community (interactions and creations of ease, comfort, familiarity, ownership).

Political violence changes the overall climate and functioning of communities through instilling a collective sense and generalized climate of fear, as reported in studies of political violence from Nicaragua, Colombia, Guatemala, Burma and El Salvador ( Tully, 1995 , Skidmore, 2003 , Lykes et al ., 2007 , Oslender, 2007 , Flores et al ., 2009 ). Work on intergroup conflict makes clear that political violence affects collective emotional orientations, or “cultural frameworks,” such as collective fear or collective hope. The collective sense of hope is closely linked to resilience and the potential for peace in the face of political violence; in contrast, collective fear and collective hatred further entrench conflict and violence ( Bar-Tal, 2001 ; Bar-Tal, et al ., 2007 ). In addition to fostering the conflict, collective terror is also deliberately deployed to control populations within political violence, as research by Jenkins (1991) in El Salvador and Skidmore (2003) in Burma each concluded.

The destruction of networks that are central to the well-being of both individuals and collectives is another way in which the overall functioning of communities is threatened. Scholars of political violence in El Salvador and Argentina concluded political violence deliberately destroys relationships, social ties and networks ( Martín-Baró et al ., 1994 , Robben, 2005 ). While other authors do not characterize the destruction of networks as an overt act of political violence, studies by Pedersen et al. (2008) , Jones, et al. (2003) , and Dillenburger et al. (2008) in Peru, Kosovo and Ireland found destruction of networks was the ultimate result.

Finally, political violence diminishes the number, and strength, of community organizations and organizing activity, as reported in research by Skidmore in Burma (2003) and Esparza (2005) , Flores, et al. (2009) , and Lykes, et al. (2007) in Guatemala. Increased collective resignation and passivity, defeatist thoughts about “moving forward,” and failure to speak out against further repression were reported by Pedersen, et al. in Peru (2010) . In Lykes, et al.’s research in Guatemala, more than half of respondents indicated unity and social mobilization existed only a little bit or not at all ( Lykes et al ., 2007 ). Diminished organizing activity is often accomplished through targeted killings, surveillance and repression aimed at individuals or geographic areas suspected of community organizing, particularly university students and professors and community leaders, as reported by Keller, et al. (2008) , Flores, et al. (2009) , Skidmore (2003) , Snider (2004) , and Wang (2010) of political violence in Zimbabwe, Guatemala, Burma, Peru and Kosovo.

Political violence & governmental functioning

The freedom, pluralism, accountability and trust inherent within functioning democracies support individual development and well-being, particularly within cases of mass disasters such as political violence ( Melton and Sianko, 2010 , Garbarino, 2011 ). In a more practical sense, individuals depend on governmental structures to provide opportunities for meaningful participation and to fulfill of basic requirements of health and well-being, such as systems for emergency response, water, sanitation, health and schooling ( Flores et al ., 2009 , Melton and Sianko, 2010 ). Political violence is intimately related to several areas of governance, including leadership, freedom of the press, and accountability by governments for atrocities ( de Jong, 2010 ). The literature suggests that political violence deteriorates the functioning of governments and its consequent ability to support the populace in three ways: (1) by deteriorating government systems necessary for daily living, (2) by weakening the public sector, and (3) by destroying democratic processes.

Well functioning public utility systems ensure public health. Studies done in El Salvador, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and South Africa found effects of political violence include the destruction or neglect of public utility systems (sewage, electric and water) and infrastructure like roads and bridges ( Yach, 1988 , Ugalde et al ., 2000 , Reilley et al ., 2002 , Coward 2004 , Salvage, 2007 , Gregory, 2008 , Hamieh and Ginty, 2010 ). Graham (2010) concluded attacks on physical infrastructure needed for water and electricity networks in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Iraq represent an underlying aim to “de-modernize” whole societies. The damage to medical systems due to political violence has a host of consequences, including increased infectious disease ( Beyrer, 1998 , Reilley et al ., 2002 , Gayer et al ., 2007 ) and problems in vaccination services ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2003 , Herp et al ., 2003 ). Damage is incurred through deliberate targeting of or “collateral damage” to health centers, as reported by Itavyar and Ogba (1989) , Farmer (2004) and Yusufzai (2008) in Africa, Haiti, and Pakistan, respectively. Pedersen (2002) reported this damage in Mozambique, Nicaragua, and Peru. Salvage (2007) reported deterioration of health systems resulting from political violence in Iraq through material destruction of clinics and a reduction in supplies, equipment and drugs necessary for healthcare provision. Medical personnel have also been explicit targets of political violence in Afghanistan, Guatemala, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, the Philippines, Iraq, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Croatia, Bosnia, Palestine and Kashmir ( Garfield et al ., 1987 , Pedersen, 2002 , Keller et al ., 2008 , Yusufzai, 2008 , Acerra et al ., 2009 , Flores et al ., 2009 ). Basu (2004) , Farmer (2004) and Simunovic (2007) correlate political violence to the shortage of healthcare workers in Haiti, Iraq and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In addition to physical infrastructure for healthcare, strong and responsive governmental systems are needed for health and well-being of populations ( Katz, 2001 , Farmer, 2004 , Pfeiffer et al ., 2008 ). However, political violence contributes to the deterioration of public sector and governments’ ability to provide for citizenry, creating “governance voids” ( Cliffe and Luckham, 2000 ). It draws funds away from health and social services ( Sidel and Levy, 2008 ), and diminishes resources for health sectors, as reported by Itavyar and Ogba (1989) in research throughout Africa, by Ugalde, et al. (2000) in El Salvador, where the healthcare budget was reduced by 50%, and by Farmer (2004) in Haiti, where in 2004, the newest medical school was turned into a military base for foreign troops. De-investment in the public sector as a part of political violence has been reported by Barghouthi and Giacaman (1990) in Palestine and Hamieh and Ginty in Lebanon (2010) . Iraq is an example of a country with strong investment in the public mental health system prior to the invasion that now has virtually no plan for a government system of control or regulation ( Hamid and Everett, 2007 ). Cliffe and Luckman (2000) and Pedersen (2002) report tensions are common with outside “experts” who have little understanding of the historical and political context of the area yet take control of recovery. This usurpation of control threatens government power as it decreases coordination and increases inefficiency and corruption, as reported by Simunovic (2007) , Menkhaus (2010) , Giacaman, et al. (2003) , Ugalde et al. (2000) , and Salvage (2007) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Somalia, Palestine, El Salvador and Iraq. Some reports charge the politics of outside aid within situations of political violence go beyond tensions over “turf;” rather that aid is deliberately used within political violence to manipulate and control governments or populations and to threaten sovereignty ( Giacaman et al ., 2003 , Jacoby and James, 2010 , Menkhaus, 2010 ).

Representation and inclusion of populations in decision making processes of government are essential for well-being ( World Health Organization, 2008 ). Governmental systems that uphold the principles of democracy and accountability foster individual development and nurture well-being ( Melton and Sianko, 2010 , Garbarino, 2011 ). However, political violence undermines participation, as governments are weakened due to external targeting or turn against their own citizens. The aim of political violence perpetrated by people’s own governments is often to weaken political opposition, as reported in Guatemala, Argentina and Burma ( Preti, 2002 , Skidmore, 2003 , Robben, 2005 ). Political violence often leaves a state void of institutions to protect its populace. There are also numerous examples of political violence wherein state institutions are the aggressors, as reported by Lykes (2007) , Menkhaus (2010) and Farwell and Cole (2001) . Literature from Peru, former Yugoslavia, El Salvador and Guatemala reveals the high prevalence and effects of governments’ denial of atrocities and lack of accountability for the wrong-doings during political violence in these locations ( Martín-Baró et al ., 1994 , Preti, 2002 , Basoglu et al ., 2005a , Lykes et al ., 2007 ).

This review summarized literature on the effects of political violence, emphasizing the ways in which it impairs and dismantles collective functioning, which in turn threatens individual well-being. Findings were discussed with respect to how political violence affects an individual’s ability to participate in social and political life; how community functioning is lessened; and how the functioning of government and its official bodies is undermined. Figure 2 illustrates the effects of political violence in each domain of inquiry, following the findings detailed in the review and seen in Table 1 .

Effects of political violence on domains of collective functioning

Findings of various studies suggest well-being across domains is interdependent; often the weakening of one area (for instance, governmental functioning) affects another in turn (for instance, individuals’ willingness to engage in political life) ( Figure 2 ). Studies by Robben (2005) and Skidmore (2003) found that, as individuals are less able to act as part of a collective due to mistrust and isolation stemming from political violence, community functioning suffers. Individuals are less able to take part in community activities like organizing. Lykes, et al. (2007) found that, as community functioning deteriorates (due to displacement, fear and terror, and destruction of social networks), isolation and mistrust increases. Additionally, Esparza (2005) found that, as individuals become less willing to hold governments accountable and are less trusting of governments and processes of democracy, government functioning deteriorates. Governments are also less accountable to individuals and have inadequate physical and organizational infrastructure to ensure well-being of society ( Ugalde et al., 2000 ).

While most of these studies detailed the negative effects of political violence, one alternative hypothesis that should be presented is the notion that political violence might actually incite positive growth to the benefit of the collective, as it encourages what has been referred to on the individual level as “post-traumatic growth” ( Linley & Joseph, 2004 ). For instance, scholars have noted that political violence inspires communities to come together for the purposes of resistance and collective demands for justice and accountability; thus, particularly in the responses, political violence may increase political involvement and build both individual and collective empowerment ( Lykes, 2007 ; Punamäki,1990; Stewart, J., 2008 ). In addition, as noted in the introduction, political violence and structural violence are quite intertwined, usually co-occurring and sometimes co-precipitating. Further research is needed to determine how they interact and which might be the driving force of the collective injury within the context of political violence, and therefore perhaps the most salient point of intervention (see, for instance, Miller et al ., 2010 ).

Implications for Further Research

Findings of this review provide implications for research. Specifically, there is a need to (1) examine health effects of political violence across multiple, interdependent areas of influence, (2) collect and refine indicators of collective functioning, especially those that may be effected by political violence, and (3) continue to develop and improve multilevel conceptual models that represent the diverse effects of political violence on health across and within levels. These are discussed below and then implications for policy and practice are explored.

First, the notion that areas of influence interact with one another is in line with theories that assert well-being rests on the mutual exchange between a person and his or her environment (Brofenbrenner and Morris, 1998, in ( Brofenbrenner and Evans, 2000 )). This theory of mutual exchange between person and their environment also resonates with scholars of political violence who assert it acts on multiple areas simultaneously ( Martinez and Eiroa-Orosa, 2010 ). Thus, research frameworks that examine simultaneous consequences of violence within multiple areas of influence will provide more nuanced understandings of political violence (for expanded discussions and examples of this, see Evans-Campbell, 2008 , Cummings et al ., 2009 , Dubow et al ., 2010 , Panter-Brick, 2010 , Tol et al ., 2010 , as well as the 2010 special issue of Social Science and Medicine on conflict and health).

Second, future studies should seek to develop or refine indicators of collective functioning. Findings from this literature review suggest indicators of functioning relevant to understanding the problem of political violence on levels beyond the individual ( de Jong, 2010 ). Creating, testing and refining measures of the areas of collective functioning on which political violence would be a useful next step in understanding the problem. Table 3 provides suggestions to this end.

Conceptualizing indicators of collective functioning

Third, this paper provides a preliminary conceptual model for identifying some of the effects of political violence on relationships between domains of collective functioning that underlie health. Future research might investigate this further and refine conceptual models that examine the effects of political violence on mutually created domains of collective functioning. It would be of particular use if these models or future research on political violence examined the relationship between community functioning/social fabric and governmental functioning, as this review of the literature did not find studies that proposed or explored this relationship. Research might also add domains, such as family functioning, to models of collective effects of political violence ( Garbarino and Kostelny, 1996 , Qouta et al ., 2006 , Haj-Yahia, 2007 ). Future models might also take a more positive focus and attend to resiliency or protective factors within political violence across multiple levels of functioning, as sociocultural processes, community resilience, and civic and political engagement all appear to build endurance in the face of political violence ( Jenkins, 1991 ; Qouta et al ., 1995 ; Khamis, 1998 ; Barber, 2001 ; Norris et al ., 2008 ; Nguyen-Gillham et al ., 2008 ; Nuwayhid et al ., 2011 ; Sousa, et al ., 2013; Zraly and Nyirazinyoye, 2010 ).

Findings from this review suggest a few implications for policy and practice. In light of the far-reaching effects of political violence demonstrated in this review and elsewhere, prevention of political violence itself should be prioritized, as pointed out by other health scholars ( Hagopian et al ., 2009 , de Jong, 2010 ). In terms of secondary or tertiary prevention, or recovery from or management of effects of political violence, an increase in knowledge of the collective effects of political violence is particularly salient for mental health professionals focusing on conflict zones. Researchers have suggested sound collective social and political functioning plays a positive, protective role in the mental health of those who have experienced political violence ( Farwell and Cole, 2001 , de Zulueta, 2007 ). Equally important is the ability of individuals to aid in the rebuilding of social and political arenas of their societies after political violence through active participation, which necessitates trust and the ability to work collectively ( Hernández, 2002 ). Understanding, then, how political violence affects both individuals and the social and political systems on which their health and well-being depend will help us to identify potential targets for multilevel policy and practice interventions (for examples of this, see Robben, 2005 , Laplante and Holguin, 2006 , Hoffman and Kruczek, 2011 ).

Recovery from the effects of political violence happens not only in the world of the individual, but also in their social and political worlds ( Almedom and Summerfield, 2004 ). By focusing on political violence and collective well-being, this review illustrates the potential for multilevel frameworks that move beyond individual pathology to develop more nuanced conceptualizations of the health problems resulting from political violence. This increased understanding holds the potential to help to develop and implement treatment, intervention and prevention programs and policies that address the influence of political violence on health across multiple levels of functioning.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to acknowledge Drs. Todd Herrenkohl, Susan Kemp, Taryn Lindhorst, David Takeuchi, Tracy Harachi and Amy Hagopian for their thorough edits and thoughtful assistance with the preparation of this manuscript.

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Political violence: an introduction

• Published: 10 October 2016
• Volume 169 , pages 161–170, ( 2016 )

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This article sets the stage for this special issue on political violence by providing some necessary background and definitions. For example, data plots are displayed to capture past and recent trends in transnational and domestic terrorist attacks, interstate and intrastate wars, and battle-related deaths. These plots document the changing nature of political violence in recent years. Additionally, this article indicates the basic themes of each study in this issue, along with their primary findings and methodologies. Special issue articles shed light on important aspects of terrorism, civil wars, coups, and piracy.

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Gaibulloev, K., & Sandler, T. (2016). Decentralization, institutions, and maritime piracy. Public Choice , 169 (3–4), 1–18. doi: 10.1007/s11127-016-0346-3 .

Gaibulloev, K., & Younas, J. (2016). Conflicts and domestic bank lending. Public Choice, 169 (3–4), 1–17. doi: 10.1007/s11127-016-0362-3 .

Gassebner, M., Gutmann, J., & Voigt, S. (2016). When to expect a coup d’état? An extreme bounds analysis of coup determinants. Public Choice , 169 (3–4), 1–21. doi: 10.1007/s11127-016-0365-0 .

Gleditsch, K. S., & Polo, S. M. T. (2016). Ethnic inclusion, democracy, and terrorism. Public Choice , 169 (3–4), 1–23. doi: 10.1007/s11127-016-0360-5 .

Mickolus, E. F., Sandler, T., Murdock, J. M., & Flemming, P. (2016). International terrorism: Attributes of terrorist events, 1968–2015 (ITERATE) . Ponte Vedra, FL: Vinyard Software.

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Acknowledgments

Special thanks are due to William F. Shughart II, who provided content and editorial assistance on all articles of this special issue. Khusrav Gaibulloev and William F. Shughart II provided helpful advice on this introduction. Justin George generated the four figures in the article.

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Sandler, T. Political violence: an introduction. Public Choice 169 , 161–170 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-016-0380-1

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Received : 19 September 2016

Accepted : 29 September 2016

Published : 10 October 2016

Issue Date : December 2016

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-016-0380-1

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• December 11, 2020

It’s that time of year again—when Political Violence @ A Glance publishes a list of the year’s best books, especially those that draw attention to the ways in which research on political violence and its alternatives relates to contemporary policy problems. Here are our contributors’ and editors’ top reads from 2020. What are yours?

Barbara Walter

How Insurgency Begins: Rebel Group Formation in Uganda and Beyond , by Janet Lewis. This is the book we have all been waiting for. Lewis’ extraordinary research reveals the origins of rebel groups long before they emerge as viable, visible forces. Using data from Uganda, Lewis analyzes where and when even the smallest groups form, why only a few of them survive, and how local intelligence determines whether they grow or perish. This is one of the few books that reveals exactly how civil wars emerge.

Dangerously Divided: How Race and Class Shape Winning and Losing in American Politics , by Zoltan L. Hajnal. Cambridge 2020. I have spent the last year applying what scholars know about the outbreak of civil wars to the case of the United States today. One of the things we know is that civil wars are more likely to break out in countries whose populations have factionalized along ethnic or religious lines. This book reveals quite clearly how this has happened in the United States and why race, not class, is the great dividing line in the US.

White Identity Politics , by Ashley Jardina. What I loved about this book was how well it explained why whites are only now beginning to see and feel their white identity. When someone is part of the dominant culture and race, they aren’t even aware of their distinct identity; they just think it’s the norm. Jardina also included a great quote: “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” (unknown author)

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents , by Isabel Wilkerson. Random House 2020. Wilkerson won the Pulitzer Prize for this book and she deserved it. Wilkerson takes a step back and shows the reader how America is no different from other caste systems around the world including India, and how our own oppressive system based on race was used as a model by Nazi Germany. 

Erica Chenoweth

Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present  by Frank Snowden. The book came out in 2019, but it is a must-read for understanding how societies have shaped and been shaped by epidemics and pandemics throughout recorded history. One of the key insights that emerges is the way in which enforcement of quarantines and other public health measures during pre-Westphalian times gave rise to the coercive capacity of the state. From Venetian aristocrats during the Black Death to mandatory lockdowns during Ebola outbreaks, Snowden lays out the ways in which some groups within society almost always resist public health measures, like quarantine and social distancing, tying their resistance into broader anti-establishment claims. This is helpful context for understanding today’s seemingly nonrational protests against mask mandates, CDC protocols, and vaccines, which are not necessarily a novelty of our disinformation age but instead are fairly commonplace patterns across history. Another key insight from the book is the way in which disease has played a decisive role in the destruction of peoples, the ending of wars, and the making (or re-making) of states. The introduction of diseases by Spanish colonists hastened the genocides of Native Americans during the conquests of the Americas in the 15 th and 16 th centuries, demonstrating the horrific combination of weaponized pathogens alongside racist ideologies and imperial ambitions. It is perhaps less widely known that in the Haitian Revolution, during which enslaved people liberated themselves, yellow fever hastened the decimation of the French colonial army. Napoleon’s Grand Armée later saw defeat in Russia on account dysentery and typhus. In 2020, much has been made of the impacts of WWI on the global spread of the Spanish Influenza of 1918 and 1919. In sum, reading Snowden reminds us that war, violence, resistance, and epidemics are often deeply intertwined with one another. If you’re pressed for time and can’t make your way through a full book on the topic, Elizabeth Kolbert has an excellent essay touching on these themes at  The New Yorker .

Navin Bapat

Exit from Hegemony: the Unraveling of the American Global Order , by Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon. Oxford University Press, 2020. This is a very ambitious and exceptionally interesting examination of great power decline generally and where the US is relative to its competitors. More importantly, it takes seriously the idea that illiberal right-wing and counter order political movements may contribute to this process. 

Michael Barnett

Caste is a necessary book for the moment. Wilkerson’s wager is that the concept of caste will help illuminate dynamics of American society that are otherwise blurred or overlooked by the more familiar concept of race. I am not sure that she won that wager, but that does not matter because she has accomplished something much more important: she has used a concept sharpened in another context to expose the myths white Americans tell themselves about the United States. It is the power of comparison between the United States and other rigidly divided societies that inverts the American narrative of progress. It is recognizing that parts of the world have drawn from the ugliness of the American experience to regulate and oppress their minorities. For Wilkerson, the United States is not a shining light on a hill but rather a pulsing, blazing red hazard. She will not tell experts anything that they do not know, but they will nevertheless get much from the reading experience. And those who think that they already know much will find how much more there is to know. Eloquent with stories that illuminate and bring the reader in, this is a book that sits with the reader for quite a while.

Dawn Brancati

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. Flatiron Books, 2020. It meaningfully relates the psychological trauma and physical hardships of those exposed to drug cartel violence in Mexico and the dangerous attempts of migrants to escape this violence within Mexico and to the US.

Allard Duursma

Libya’s Fragmentation: Structure and Process in Violent Conflict by Wolfram Lacher. The book shows how political fragmentation has made the re-establishment of central authority in Libya virtually impossible. Instead of focusing on the master cleavage of war in Libya, Lacher focuses on how social ties and local actors have shaped the country’s trajectory since the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011. The book is very well-researched, drawing on more than 400 interviews. Its focus on the interplay between armed groups and the social groupings from which they emerge is highly relevant for both academics and policymakers concerned with local conflicts. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for any type of conflict resolution effort in highly fragmented conflicts.

Peter Krause

Conflict Among Rebels: Why Insurgent Groups Fight Each Other , by Costantino Pischedda.

Pischedda’s book is one of the very best at analyzing the causes of rebel infighting and fragmentation. He offers a powerful theory about how windows of opportunity and windows of vulnerability drive fratricidal violence, and he digs into micro-level shifts in power among rebel groups over time to test his claims about insurgent behavior and outcomes. This book has broad applications beyond its in-depth examinations of insurgent dynamics in Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, and Syria.

Aila Matanock

Crippling Leviathan , by Melissa M. Lee

This book incorporates power politics between states into how we think about “ungoverned spaces.” The argument is that foreign subversion, where rival states undermine state authority, can bring about areas of statelessness. Creating ungoverned spaces is a tool of statecraft that has been used in many cases. The book implies that policymakers should consider whether a rival needs incentives not to meddle, for example, and that this may be just as important to statebuilding as assisting the target itself.

Institution Building in Weak States: The Primacy of Local Politics , by Andrew Radin. This book takes seriously the objections of political opponents within states to statebuilding efforts. The argument is that the incentives of local political factions can block reforms that look Pareto-improving on the surface. Accommodating, and perhaps gradually changing, local political interests has been a key element of successful missions. The book implies that policymakers should consider using incremental change as potentially the only effective path forward in states with weak institutions.

Brian Phillips

Joana Cook, A Woman’s Place: US Counterterrorism Since 9/11 .

Cook provides a fascinating and in-depth analysis of the roles of women in US counterterrorism in recent decades, across agencies and across presidential administrations. The book explains important changes that have occurred—and highlights critical issues that need further attention.

Thomas C. Zeitzoff

Keith Makato Woodhouse, The Ecocentrists: A History of Radical Environmentalism .

A fascinating book that includes several surprising insights including: 1) conservatives and Republicans were initially quite receptive to the environmental movement, and 2) the Sierra Club was a hotbed of anti-immigration sentiment.

Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power .

Imminently readable, and perfectly captures American politics and conspiracy in the age of Trump and COVID-19.

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• Counterterrorism
• Daniel Nexon
• environmentalism
• Isabel Wilkerson
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• Keith Makato Woodhouse
• Nazi Germany
• Sierra Club
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Terrorism, Social Activism and Political Violence Essay

Terrorism to me is a rather controversial phenomenon. Clearly, it brings a lot of destruction and suffering. Yet, its basis is not pure evil. From the readings and videos studied for this course, it becomes clear that some of the strongest motivations for terrorist groups are such aspects as patriotism, independence, freedom, faith, and religion, devotion to one’s country and family, national, ethnic, and cultural self-identification.

None of these notions are evil, and none of them initially represent aggression and violence. Depowered individuals gathered in a group and motivated by decades of framing, propaganda, and social pressure, armed and convinced that they are doing a noble and heroic deed can become very powerful. Earlier, terrorism was seen mostly as a vicious demonstration of unreasonable human aggression directed against innocent victims. Today, terrorism is studied deeper and many of its basic aspects are taken into consideration. As a result, it turns out that it is not that hard to understand what brings men and women to terrorist organizations.

Terrorism is based on citizens’ dissatisfaction with the work of their governments and with the inner and outer policies of their states. Since peaceful protests almost never work and constitutional ways of gaining the attention of the political leaders may take decades, the most preferred way for depowered individuals to solve the problems is a revolution, armed conflict, and insurgency. States, as well as individuals, may become the perpetrators of terrorism and violence. According to Weber (1918), a proper politician is the one that can combine rationality with emotions and be just without being cold and heartless, be responsive without getting overwhelmed by emotions.

In my opinion, terrorists can be characterized as people that lost their heads because of emotional attachments and started to act aggressively. Yet, calling terrorism immoral or unethical seems narrow-minded. A question needs to be asked here: “what exactly is meant by immoral behavior?” If it is killing other people, then how come soldiers that kill people in battles are considered heroes, and non-state agents that do the same are seen as pure evil? Labeling terrorism as immoral and unethical is the same as rejecting critical thinking about this phenomenon, and siding with the sources of framing that surround us.

The role of women in political violence

The meaning of gender roles in terrorism is not one of the most popular subjects studied in relation to this phenomenon. Women’s participation in terrorism has been overlooked for a while because of the absence of data for the research in this field. Only recently the experts received access to interviews with some unsuccessful female suicide bombers and terrorists that got caught and were asked about their motifs, beliefs, goals, and ideas.

It is believed that women are victims of terrorist propaganda, who are intentionally depowered and oppressed, so once their fathers, brothers, or husbands die, women would see no future for themselves and join the terrorist armies. The Sri Lankan film called “The Terrorist” demonstrates the new perspective on women in terrorism. Malli, the main character of the film, is not a simple-minded slave of a woman, she is a powerful and sharp person, her leaders call her “the thinking bomb” (Man 2013). Many experts today realize that women are a serious threat to terrorism, they fight equally with male soldiers, they are clever, well trained, and loyal to their leaders. They may occupy leading and responsible roles, instead of being used as disposable resources.

According to Thompson, how has the portrayal of social movements within the rhetoric of terrorism altered the actions of activists?

The war on terror the United States declared after the events of 9/11 created a large number of negative consequences in the world and especially on the territory of the USA (Thompson 2008). Framing terrorism as a threat, which is present all the time and everywhere, caused a massive panic and created ethnic and cultural division in the country, paranoia, and tension. Failing to behead terrorism in the Middle East the USA leaders turned to the domestic issues pronouncing them as acts of terrorism. One feature terrorism and social movements have in common is the desire to express themselves and to affect the politicians and their decisions (Thompson 2008).

Lack of power to do so made both of them start speaking through the actions. Identifying domestic protesters with terrorists angers the activists and provokes them to engage in more sophisticated forms of violence to be understood. As a result, the actions of activists became directed at making a show, engaging mass media, promoting their operations instead of simply committing acts of violence.

The definition of “terrorism”

In my opinion, to define terrorism properly it is important to mention its orientation to the public as a form of activism (Thompson 2008). Besides, terrorism is a way of self-expression put into practice through the most effective means. Of course, the power of propaganda should be mentioned. This way, my definition of terrorism presents this phenomenon as collective activism of depowered individuals directed at major political changes through the attraction of public attention via mass media and employing such means as weapons, violence, propaganda, and framing based on cultural, religious, and ethnic self-identification of individuals.

Reference List

Man, K. (2013). 1997 film [English subtitles ]. Web.

Thompson, A. (2008). Representation‘s Limit: The Epistemology of Spectacular Violence. In Ayyash, M. & Hendershot, C. (Eds.), Violent Interventions: Selected Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Conference of the York Center for International and Security Studies (5-20). Ontario: York Center for International and Security Studies.

Weber, M. (1918). Politik als Beruf (Politics as a Vocation). Lecture given to Free Students/Movement, Munich University.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, March 2). Terrorism, Social Activism and Political Violence. https://ivypanda.com/essays/terrorism-social-activism-and-political-violence/

"Terrorism, Social Activism and Political Violence." IvyPanda , 2 Mar. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/terrorism-social-activism-and-political-violence/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Terrorism, Social Activism and Political Violence'. 2 March.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Terrorism, Social Activism and Political Violence." March 2, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/terrorism-social-activism-and-political-violence/.

1. IvyPanda . "Terrorism, Social Activism and Political Violence." March 2, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/terrorism-social-activism-and-political-violence/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Terrorism, Social Activism and Political Violence." March 2, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/terrorism-social-activism-and-political-violence/.

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April 3, 2024

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Researcher sees 'alarming' risk of political violence in US

by Daniel Strain, University of Colorado at Boulder

Editor's note: This article contains content around violence and racism that may be upsetting for some readers.

Regina Bateson first traveled to Guatemala in 2005 as a young foreign service officer working in the U.S Embassy in Guatemala City. At the time, the Latin American nation was less than a decade out from the peace accords that had ended its brutal civil war.

According to estimates, nearly 200,000 people died or vanished in the war between 1960 and 1996—most were Indigenous Maya, and most had been killed at the hands of the government or its agents. But, in some ways, Guatemala after the turn of the millennium was not much safer. By 2011, the homicide rate in Guatemala City had reached 104.5 deaths per 100,000 people, more than eight times the homicide rate in Denver in 2022.

Amid all that violence, Bateson, now an assistant professor of political science at CU Boulder, discovered a contradiction that shaped the rest of her life. She had assumed that the most deadly regions of Guatemala would also be the areas that had been the most wracked by war. But that wasn't the case.

To the budding researcher, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the patterns of violence in her new home.

"That was puzzling to me. I talked to a lot of people about it when I was there, and nobody had a solid explanation for why that was," she said. "That was what motivated me to go to graduate school."

Today, Bateson studies vigilantism and other forms of political violence. Her time in Guatemala and elsewhere has taught her lessons about the ways that these acts can emerge around the globe. Vigilantism, she said, is almost always carried out by a group in power targeting people who have much less power, in many cases motivated by racism or xenophobia. She added that many of the warning signs for violence have reared up across the United States, including the spread of armed and organized militias.

When she returned to Guatemala for her dissertation research, for example, Bateson encountered an organization known as the Guardianes del Vecindario in Joyabaj—a small town in the department of El Quiché, where the government had perpetrated acts of genocide. The group, or la patrulla ("the patrol") as locals called it, echoed the civil patrols that roamed the region during the civil war. The group's several hundred members walked the streets at night, wearing black ski masks, stopping passersby and searching cars. In some cases, patrollers detained, beat and even tortured people they suspected of crimes.

"People are afraid to do anything bad now that the patrol is here," one Joyabaj resident told Bateson at the time.

Closer to home, there's still a lot that concerned people in the United States can do to resist an escalation in violence, Bateson said. In 2018, she ran as a Democrat in the primary to represent California's 4th Congressional District, ultimately coming in third.

"The court system matters. The judiciary matters," she said. "Our institutions provide a check on violent and authoritarian behavior that doesn't exist in many other places."

Fuzzy lines

When talking about vigilantism, Bateson often points to the case of David Chen, owner of Lucky Moose Food Mart in Toronto.

In 2009, Chen and a few of his staff members chased down a man they believed had stolen plants from their market, tying him up and tossing him into a van. Police arrested both the vigilantes and the alleged thief. But in the years that followed, politicians including then Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper showed up at the market to take photos with Chen. Eventually, the government passed a bill to expand the scope of citizens arrests in Canada, and Chen was cleared of all charges.

Bateson defines cases of vigilantism like this as "the extralegal prevention, investigation or punishment of offenses."

Culturally, the word "vigilante" may conjure up images of Batman or Charles Bronson, star of the 1974 film "Death Wish"—lone wolves taking the law into their own hands. But, as Chen's case shows, vigilantism is an inherently political act, Bateson said, and the lines between vigilantes and official state institutions can become "fuzzy."

"Vigilantism threatens human rights and the rule of law," Bateson said. "Vigilantism is also a way for people, usually those with more power in society, to shape public debate."

She added that vigilantes around the world tend to draw on the same language and themes to justify their actions—whether that's in countries with high violent crime rates, or in much safer places like Canada or Scandinavia. Often, vigilantes act on fears that may be unfounded or are deeply rooted in racism and xenophobia.

"They say, "We have to step in, and we have no choice because the state is either absent or not being aggressive enough,'" Bateson said. "But the people targeted by vigilantes may have done absolutely nothing wrong and are just perceived as a threat because of their identity."

Alarming trends

The United States has not been immune to such deadly vigilante violence, including horrific acts by lynch mobs. The NAACP estimates that between 1882 and 1968, 4,743 people were lynched in the United States , more than 70% of whom were Black. This year, six former law enforcement officers from Mississippi were sentenced for a 2023 incident in which they broke into a home and tortured two Black men.

Bateson has seen "alarming" signs that the United States may be teetering on the brink of political violence today as extremist groups around the country become more organized.

In recent years, she said, far-right organizations, including some of those responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, have created robust social networks across the country. Even as some group members have faced prosecution, the Southern Poverty Law Center has found that militias have continued organizing online and underground. Armed militias are patrolling stretches of the southern border with Mexico, seeking to stop and detain migrants crossing north.

"Vigilantism is hard on a logistical level," she said. "It's hard to carry out, but there's a lot of infrastructure in place to support it in the U.S. right now."

Bateson also points to the rise in politicians using what she calls "dehumanizing" language.

"The fact that political rhetoric is singling out particular groups as 'poisoning the blood of the country' has really caught the attention of people who study political violence," Bateson said. "Dehumanizing language like that is such a red flag. Throughout history, it has preceded significant violence targeting vulnerable groups."

But there's still time to reverse this trend. In the United States, the rule of law and political institutions, while under pressure, remain strong compared with many other parts of the world.

"Being pro-democracy and pro-rule of law is not an exclusively Democratic, Republican, Green or Libertarian agenda. It's not a partisan position," Bateson said. "Being active in your political party and promoting candidates whose values align with what you want to see for the country's future is so important."

Provided by University of Colorado at Boulder

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121 Political Science Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Political science is a fascinating field that explores the dynamics of power, governance, and policy-making in societies. If you are studying political science or are just interested in the subject, you may be looking for essay topics to explore in your writing. Here are 121 political science essay topic ideas and examples to help you get started:

• The impact of social media on political campaigns
• The role of the media in shaping public opinion
• The influence of money in politics
• The rise of populism in modern politics
• The effects of gerrymandering on elections
• The role of political parties in shaping policy
• The impact of lobbying on policy-making
• The role of interest groups in influencing government decisions
• The importance of voter turnout in a democracy
• The history of civil rights movements in the United States
• The impact of the Supreme Court on American politics
• The role of the United Nations in global governance
• The effects of globalization on political systems
• The role of the military in politics
• The impact of climate change on international relations
• The role of diplomacy in resolving conflicts
• The impact of immigration on politics
• The role of religion in shaping political beliefs
• The effects of nationalism on international relations
• The role of human rights in global politics
• The impact of technology on political participation
• The role of international organizations in promoting peace
• The effects of income inequality on political systems
• The role of women in politics
• The impact of political corruption on governance
• The role of ideology in shaping political beliefs
• The effects of colonialism on modern politics
• The role of social movements in shaping policy
• The impact of terrorism on global politics
• The role of education in promoting civic engagement
• The effects of economic sanctions on international relations
• The role of civil society in promoting democracy
• The impact of political polarization on governance
• The role of political culture in shaping policy
• The effects of populism on democratic institutions
• The role of the media in promoting political accountability
• The impact of foreign aid on development
• The role of international law in promoting peace
• The effects of military intervention on conflict resolution
• The role of political leadership in shaping policy
• The impact of social movements on policy change
• The role of public opinion in shaping government decisions
• The effects of political violence on governance
• The role of political parties in promoting democracy
• The impact of trade agreements on economic development
• The role of non-governmental organizations in promoting human rights
• The effects of authoritarianism on political stability
• The role of international institutions in promoting security
• The impact of civil wars on development
• The role of political ideology in shaping policy decisions
• The role of the United Nations in promoting peace

These are just a few examples of the many political science essay topics you could explore in your writing. Whether you are interested in domestic politics, international relations, or political theory, there are countless opportunities to delve into important and timely issues in the field of political science. So, pick a topic that interests you and start writing!

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Political Science Essay Topics

Get Inspired by 200 Political Science Essay Topic Ideas

15 min read

Published on: May 8, 2023

Last updated on: Jan 31, 2024

Share this article

Political science is a fascinating and ever-evolving field that seeks to understand the complex workings of politics. As a student of political science, writing essays on political science topics can be an excellent way to deepen your knowledge.

But finding an excellent topic for your essay is often the most difficult part. Don’t worry if you’re stuck at choosing a topic - delve into our list of topics to find inspiration!

In this blog, we've compiled a list of almost 200 political science essay topics. This list covers a wide range of topics and subfields within political science. These thought-provoking essay topics will inspire you to explore new ideas and develop a deeper understanding of the subject. 

So let’s delve into it!

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Public Policy and Administration Essay Topics

• The role of public policy in promoting sustainable development.
• An analysis of the impact of social media on public policy decision-making.
• The challenges of implementing public policy in diverse cultural contexts.
• A comparative study of public healthcare policies in different countries.
• The role of public-private partnerships in promoting economic development.
• An evaluation of the effectiveness of public policy in addressing climate change.
• The impact of globalization on public policy and administration.
• The challenges of balancing individual rights and public safety in policy-making.
• An analysis of the role of bureaucracy in public policy administration.
• The ethical challenges facing public policy decision-makers and administrators.

Political Theory and Political Philosophy Essay Topics

• The concept of justice in political philosophy
• The views on power in political philosophy
• The relationship between democracy and capitalism in political theory.
• The role of civil disobedience in democratic societies: a philosophical perspective.
• The relationship between individual freedom and social responsibility in political theory.
• The role of the state in ensuring social justice in modern democracies.
• A critical analysis of the concept of sovereignty.
• The relationship between ethics and politics in the work of Aristotle.
• A comparative study of the political thought of Plato and Machiavelli.
• Feminist political theory and its role in promoting gender equality in democratic societies.

Comparative Politics Essay Topics 

• What are the different electoral systems used in democratic countries?
• The role of political parties in democratic governance: a comparative analysis.
• The impact of religion on politics in different countries: a comparative study.
• The challenges of democratic consolidation in transitional societies: a comparative perspective.
• A comparative analysis of the welfare state in different countries.
• The role of civil society in democratic governance: a comparative study.
• A comparative study of the political systems of federal and unitary states.
• The impact of historical legacies on contemporary political systems: a comparative analysis.
• A comparative analysis of the parliamentary and presidential systems of government.
• The impact of globalization on political systems: a comparative study.

Political Economy Essay Topics

• The impact of globalization on economic inequality: a critical analysis.
• The role of the state in economic development: a comparative study.
• A comparative study of capitalist and socialist economic systems.
• The relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability.
• The impact of technological innovation on economic development.
• The role of multinational corporations in shaping global economic governance.
• A comparative study of the economic policies of different political regimes.
• The impact of financialization on the global economy.
• The relationship between trade liberalization and economic growth: a critical analysis.
• The role of international organizations in shaping global economic governance.

American Politics and Government Essay Topics

• The impact of political polarization on American democracy.
• Government influence in the economics of the US.
• Culture wars as the most important political issue in contemporary United States
• The challenges of federalism in a diverse and complex society.
• A critical analysis of the role of interest groups in American politics.
• The impact of media on American politics and public opinion.
• A comparative study of the voting systems used in different American states.
• The role of the Electoral College in American presidential elections.
• The impact of money on American politics: a case study of a recent election.
• A critical analysis of the role of the Constitution in shaping American politics and society.

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International Relations and Diplomacy Essay Topics

• The impact of globalization on international relations.
• A comparative study of the foreign policies of major powers.
• The role of diplomacy in conflict resolution: a case study of a recent conflict.
• The impact of economic interdependence on international relations.
• The role of international law and diplomacy in global governance.
• The role of the United Nations in promoting international peace and security.
• The role of soft power in shaping international relations
• The impact of nationalism on international relations. 
• The relationship between technology and diplomacy in the 21st century.
• The threat of nuclear weapons and nuclear war

Essay Topics About Regional Politics

• How has the European Union navigated the challenges posed by Brexit and the rise of right-wing populism?
• What role does the African Union play in promoting regional integration and economic development on the continent?
• How successful has ECOWAS been in promoting peace and security in West Africa?
• What challenges does ASEAN face in promoting economic integration and regional cooperation in Southeast Asia?
• How has SAARC contributed to regional stability and economic development in South Asia?
• What impact has the BRICS group had on global economic governance and geopolitics?
• What are the implications of China's increasing influence in the Asia-Pacific region for regional stability and security?
• How have the member states of Caricom worked together to promote economic integration and development in the Caribbean?
• The evolution of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and its role in the Middle East?
• How have regional organizations and powers responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, and what lessons can be learned from their experiences?

Political Science Education and Career Essay Topics

• The benefits of studying political science for a career in public service.
• The job prospects for political science graduates.
• The impact of technology on the future of political science careers.
• A comparative analysis of political science programs offered by different universities.
• The role of internships in preparing political science students for a career in public service.
• Diversity and inclusion in political science education and careers.
• The salaries and benefits of political science professionals.
• The role of professional associations in supporting political science education and careers.
• The skills required for a successful career in political science.
• The impact of globalization on political science education and careers.

Essay Topics About Political Parties and Elections 

• The impact of financial influence in politics on democratic elections.
• The role of political parties in shaping democratic elections.
• The impact of social media on political campaigns and elections.
• A critical analysis of voter suppression in recent elections.
• The role of interest groups in shaping election outcomes.
• A comparative study of primary election systems used in different states.
• The impact of political advertising on voter behavior.
• A critical analysis of the role of political action committees in shaping election outcomes.
• The impact of gerrymandering on democratic representation.
• The role of charismatic leadership in elections

Essay Topics About Political Ideologies

• An analysis of the major political ideologies: liberalism, conservatism, socialism, and fascism.
• The role of ideology in shaping public policy.
• A critical analysis of the relationship between democracy and different political ideologies.
• The impact of globalization on the spread of political ideologies.
• A comparative analysis of feminist and gender-based political ideologies.
• The role of religion in shaping political ideologies.
• A critical analysis of the intersection of race and political ideologies.
• A study of the political ideologies behind different social movements.
• The role of political ideologies in shaping political parties and elections.
• The impact of political ideologies on political violence and terrorism.

Essay Topics About Human Rights and Justice

• A critical analysis of the role of international law in promoting human rights and justice.
• The impact of globalization on human rights and justice.
• A comparative study of the human rights and justice systems in different countries.
• The role of the United Nations in promoting human rights and justice.
• A critical analysis of the intersection of human rights and social justice movements.
• The impact of human rights abuses on democratic governance.
• The role of civil society organizations in promoting human rights and justice.
• A comparative study of restorative and retributive justice systems.
• The impact of technology on the promotion and protection of human rights.
• The role of the media in promoting human rights and justice.

Essay Topics About Gender and Politics

• Representation of women in politics in different countries.
• The impact of gender on voting behavior and political participation.
• A critical analysis of the intersection of race and gender in politics.
• The role of gender in shaping public policy.
• A comparative analysis of the political representation of women in different regions.
• The impact of social media on the gendered nature of political discourse.
• A critical analysis of the gendered dimensions of political violence and conflict.
• The role of gender in shaping political leadership styles.
• A comparative study of the impact of gender quotas on political representation.
• The role of feminist movements in shaping political agendas.

Essay Topics About Environmental Politics

• The impact of climate change on global politics.
• The role of international organizations in shaping environmental policies.
• A comparative study of the environmental policies of different countries.
• The impact of environmental policies on economic development.
• The relationship between environmental justice and social justice.
• The role of civil society organizations in shaping environmental policies.
• Market-based vs command-and-control environmental policies.
• The impact of the media on shaping public opinion on environmental issues.
• A critical analysis of the relationship between environmental politics and global governance.
• The role of science in shaping environmental policies.

Essay Topics About Media and Politics 

• The role of media in shaping political discourse.
• The impact of social media on political communication and participation.
• A comparative analysis of media systems and their impact on political outcomes.
• The role of media in shaping public opinion and electoral outcomes.
• An analysis of the relationship between media ownership and political bias.
• The impact of fake news and disinformation on political processes and outcomes.
• A comparative study of media regulation in different countries.
• The role of investigative journalism in holding political leaders accountable.
• The impact of media consolidation on political diversity and representation.
• The relationship between media and democracy.

Essay Topics About Political Culture and Identity

• The relationship of political culture on democratic governance.
• The role of cultural identities in shaping political behavior.
• The impact of cultural diversity on political processes and outcomes.
• A critical analysis of the role of nationalism in shaping political identities.
• The impact of populism on political culture and identity.
• The role of gender and sexuality in shaping political identities.
• A critical analysis of the relationship between religion and politics.
• The impact of migration on cultural identities and political participation.
• The role of art and culture in shaping political identity and activism.
• The relationship between language and political identity.

Essay Topics About Political Geography and Geopolitics

• A study of the impact of geography on political boundaries and territorial disputes.
• A comparative analysis of political systems in different regions of the world.
• The impact of natural resources on geopolitical relations and conflicts.
• A critical analysis of the role of global institutions in shaping geopolitical outcomes.
• The impact of infrastructure development on geopolitical relations.
• A comparative study of the influence of colonialism on modern political geography.
• The role of geography in shaping economic development policies.
• The impact of migration on political geography and geopolitics.
• The impact of climate change on political geography and geopolitics.
• The role of technological innovation in shaping political geography and geopolitics.

Essay About Political Leadership and Decision-making

• A critical analysis of the qualities and characteristics of effective political leaders.
• The impact of leadership styles on decision-making in politics.
• A comparative analysis of leadership styles and their impact on political outcomes.
• The role of emotions and intuition in political decision-making.
• The relationship between power and leadership in politics.
• The impact of charismatic leadership on political influence.
• The decision-making process in crisis situations in politics.
• The role of communication skills in effective political leadership and decision-making.
• A comparative analysis of the decision-making process in democratic and authoritarian systems.
• The rise of global populist leadership.

Essay Topics About War and Peace

• The causes and consequences of war in the modern era.
• The effectiveness of different conflict resolution mechanisms.
• The role of international law in regulating armed conflicts and promoting peace.
• The role of peacekeeping operations in managing conflicts.
• The impact of new technologies on the dynamics of modern warfare.
• A comparative study of different approaches to peacebuilding and their effectiveness.
• The role of diplomacy in preventing and resolving conflicts.
• A study of the relationship between economic interdependence and peace.
• The role of media in shaping public perceptions of war and peace.
• The impact of environmental factors on the risk of conflict and the prospects for peace.

Political Argumentative Essay Topics

• Should the United Nations have the authority to intervene in sovereign nations to prevent human rights abuses?
• Is democracy the best form of government, or are there other viable alternatives?
• Should the government have the right to regulate free speech in order to protect against hate speech and incitement to violence?
• To what extent should the government be involved in regulating the economy?
• Should the electoral college be abolished in favor of a popular vote for presidential elections?
• Is democracy the ideal political system for every country in the world?
• Should political candidates be required to release their tax returns in order to run for office?
• Is political correctness a threat to free speech and academic freedom?
• Should the government be responsible for ensuring access to affordable healthcare for all citizens?
• Should the right to bear arms be protected, or should gun ownership be more strictly regulated for public safety?

Political Science Persuasive Essay Topics

• The government should provide universal healthcare to all citizens.
• Elected officials should be required to disclose their financial interests and conflicts of interest.
• Renewable energy sources should be prioritized over fossil fuels to combat climate change.
• The electoral college should be abolished in favor of a popular vote for presidential elections.
• Voter ID laws should be eliminated to ensure fair and equal access to the ballot box.
• The United States should increase its investment in education and reduce its military spending.
• The minimum wage should be raised to a living wage in order to combat poverty.
• The United States should adopt a policy of open borders and allow for more immigration.
• The government should regulate social media platforms to combat the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
• The United States should take a more active role in combating human rights abuses and promoting democracy around the world.

How to Choose a Political Science Topic for Your Essay

Now that you have read some good political science essay topic ideas, you must be wondering which one to choose. This is because with so many options to choose from, it can be overwhelming to find the right topic.

Here are some tips to help you choose a topic:

• Choose a Topic that Interests you: 

It is essential to choose a topic that you are passionate about. This will make the research and writing process more enjoyable and engaging. 

• Do Your Research: 

Conduct preliminary research on each of your potential topics to see if there is enough literature and data available. You can use academic databases, books, and reputable websites to gather information.

• Consider your Audience: 

Think about your audience and what they might find interesting and relevant. Choose a topic that is not only relevant to your course but also to the broader political context.

• Narrow Down your Focus: 

Once you have a list of potential topics, narrow them down to a few that are more specific and manageable. You can do this by asking yourself questions such as, "What is the purpose of my essay?" and "What is my main argument?"

• Keep it Relevant: 

Choose a topic that is current and relevant to the present political landscape or the course you are studying. This will help keep your essay engaging and informative.

• Consult with your Instructor: 

Finally, if you are unsure about your topic or have questions about the assignment, don't hesitate to consult with your instructor. They can offer valuable insights and advice on how to approach your topic and structure your essay.

To Wrap it Up,

Political science is a fascinating field that offers a lot of topics for students to study. It's important to choose a topic that is both interesting to you and relevant to the course material. 

With the list of 200 essay topics provided above, you can get an inspiration for your own essay. Moreover, by following the tips for choosing a topic, you can narrow down your options to find a manageable and engaging topic.

Struggling with your political science essay? Our expert essay helpers are here to assist you every step of the way. Trust our political science essay writing service to deliver top-notch papers tailored to your needs.

And for an even smoother writing experience, don't forget to explore our AI essay writer tool .

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Political Violence Essay Example

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Politics , Violence , Government , Democracy , Soviet Union , Power , Management , Society

Words: 2750

Published: 02/20/2023

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A man has created the state, and the state has created a citizen. As we all know, the state authority has to control its citizens. Of course, managing people is not an easy task. It does not matter whether it is one person or a large mass of people, their management is always based on the political violence, to a lesser extent, on the respect, which was generated by admiration. Authority, in fact, is the violence, but not obvious. Humans can admire the power and respect it, but without force and violence there is no any authority. One political analyst said that the violence is a great conundrum of policy.(Ahn, 1985) So, state is inseparable from the political violence. Moreover, the violence as a political phenomenon cannot be understood outside the context of such an important thing as authority. There has always been the kind of progressive representatives of the authority, who have come up with a variety of ways of management of the society. It is possible to define a lot of initial sources of power and domination. The most indisputable of them is force, which appears in many different forms. It should be noted that there is a wide range of opinions about the power: from a literal comparison of it with force and physical violence to a complete denial of its connection with force. During the development of government structures people have been forming various political systems. Every system has its pros and cons. Undoubtedly, the political cruelty plays a significant role in all of political systems, but of course, not every of thesm abuse them. So, there is the violence as a form of government, but at the same time none of the forms of government can exist without so-called political violence. The violence is the eternal companion of the humanity: wars, revolutions, assassinations, repressions exist in the history of mankind since ancient times. However, it should be noted that the political violence has played a variety of roles in the life of society. Different states and political parties use it in their own way, pursuing different goals. On the one hand, the political savagery allows making important transformations in the society; but on the other hand, such unlimited political brutality as terrorism is able to become a source of destabilization in any country. Consequently, the humanity has been always accompanied by political savagery. However, is the role of this eternal companion of humans so enormous? Let's make a modest attempt to analyze a role of the political violence in different political processes and systems. As we have already recalled, all of the states have been constructed by means of the political pressure. Mankind has always been obsessed by ​power and cruelty. Of course, the realization that humankind is obsessed with the violence is unpleasant (especially for the contemporary person, who is accustomed to the democratic values); however, at the same time we should clearly recognize that without the extreme force formation of any state would be impossible. In the contemporary society people are used to thinking that the government should protect citizens and facilitate their lives; but at the same time in every country should be a representation of crime and punishment. In democratic states the violence, or rather the punishment for violations of the law also exists. In connection with this it should be noted that some political analysts believe that the political violence is most effective in a case of prohibition of some actions.(Wrong, 1979) However, in the countries, where prevails democracy the government does not abuse the political brutality. In democratic societies the violence is something quite unusual. So, a member of democratic society is not used to the political savagery. However, in the countries that were totalitarian in some period of time, ideas of the political savagery are a little bit different. The reason for this is the existence of such thing as the collective consciousness, or national psychology. For example, the American believe that such a Soviet security agency as KGB is an example of despotism; but the Russian can consider KGB to be an example of governmental greatness. The choice of form of the political brutality depends on the political system, which prevails in country. So, more democratic (but not less effective) is the hidden ideological compulsion: so-called propaganda is very powerful thing, which is able to force the whole country to believe in something. Less democratic is the direct physical violence, which is more acceptable in states with totalitarian or authoritarian regimes. There are two basic forms of the political violence. Firstly, it can exist in the form of direct application of force (war, armed insurrection, political repressions and terror). Secondly, the political savagery can be indirect (hidden); this type of violence is expressed by various forms of psychological pressure, political interference, propaganda, etc. So, the character of the political brutality is closely connected with the form of implementation of political authority. The power can be implemented in two basic forms: the domination and leadership. The first form of power means the absolute dominance of some class or group in the society. It is based on the use of violence by the extreme, direct forms (not only by the physical, but also by the ideological and psychological coercion). Such a form of the government is typical of the autocratic regimes. In the countries, where a democratic system is predominant, the authority is implementing in the form of leadership by means of the convictions, influences, economic incentives and the use of indirect ways of coercion. So, even in the democratic states there is the political violence, however, it is reduced to a minimum and limited by clear legal and ethical rules. It’s important to understand that in the democratic society there are different social interests too. Moreover, the violence in democratic states is often caused by the incompatibility of interests of different social groups. This incompatibility often forces people to resort means of coercion for the implementation of their objectives. However, democratic regimes are characterized by the policy of agreement between various social groups; but of course, such agreement is very complicated process, which depends on the long-standing democratic traditions and the level of political culture in the society. There a lot of cases, in which political forces have been obsessed by the cruelty. However, during times of revolutions and coup d’états, it’s impossible to avoid the violence. Consequently, when political forces are organized in order to overthrow the existing government, they utilize a variety of methods of the political barbarity. In connection with this it’s worth recalling a contradictory, but brilliant expression, which says that the end justifies the means. Consequently, the political violence can be justified or even necessary in some occasions. The violence is fair in the case of response to unprovoked armed aggression or during the time of suppression of armed rebellion. Also, the political ctuelty can be justified if the opposition intend to overthrow the autocratic government. Moreover, the political brutality has long become a part of the folklore or even national pride. People are often proud of their national heroes (politicians, soldiers, etc.), who have been fighting against the enemies of liberty; and such exponent of non-violent protest as Mahatma Gandhi is an astonishing exception. Consequently, the political violence has already become a part of life of every nation. So, we shuold understand that it’s very difficult (or even impossible) to change the government without cruelty and punitive measures; however, to retain power without the use of coercion and harsh political measures is even more complicated. After the seizure of power, new governing elite should solve another important challenge - how to restore order in the state, and of course, how to retain control over the society. Usually such universal instrument of the authority as violence helps them to solve this problem. In connection with this we should pay attention to opinion that representatives of the authority should use very severe punishment to suppress the effect of aggression; however at the same time some researchers believe that application of lenient sanctions is more effective.(Buss, 1961) Moreover, it is worth noting that political elites may be overthrown, not only when they are losing control over the means of force, but also when they behave in a hesitant way in that situatioins, when the application of political determination and rigidity is necessary. Italian sociologist and political scientist Vilfredo Pareto argued that the absence of determination is one of the main reasons why the political elite loses their power.(Pareto, 1968) So, we can begin thinking that there is some closed circle, because as is well-known, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Consequently, cruelty begets cruelty. Let permit ourselves to recall the words of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who said that a person, who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster.(The Nietzsche Channel: Beyond Good and Evil. Epigrams and Interludes. (n.d.)) Consequently, people, who are fighting against the tyranny and injustice, can become the new tyrants. Also, there are such occasions, when the political brutality controls the whole country. We all know about the USSR - state, which was constructed by the terror. In the Soviet Union cruelty and repressions were commonplace as fog in the Great Britain. However, on the example of this country, we cannot say that terror begets terror. Control over the Soviet citizens was so intense, and repressions were so widespread that the nations, who have been residing in the Soviet Union, began considering that the political violence is natural thing. Moreover, some scholars associate the peak of political violence of the 1930s in the USSR with Joseph Stalin and his own peculiar personality and paranoia.(Shearer, D. (2013, March). "State Violence, Repression, and Governance in the Soviet Union from the 1920s to the 1950s" | David Shearer - Academia.edu.) However, we should note that after the death of Joseph Stalin the situation in Soviet Union has changed: new authority of the USSR has initiated some attempts to democratize Soviet society (processes of the Khrushchev Thaw and De-Stalinization). The USSR is a prime example of how the national psychologies are changing under the influence of the political violence and coercion. The impact of these political and social conditions can be traced even today. Even in the contemporary Russia there is a strange type of citizens, who consider Joseph Stalin to be the image of ideal ruler, whereas the whole world believes that this Soviet leader was a tyrant. Moreover, the political violence begets the atmosphere of fear; it transforms nations into the passive object of political manipulations. So, it is important to note that the political violence does not always cause various riots and social uprisings. Sometimes total control and repressions are able to turn the entire nations into the obedient frightened masses. Political activities connected with the violence often cause high emotional tightness in the community.(Apter, 1993) Even though some scholars believe that the domination, based on the political cruelty can be effective only for a short period of time, Soviet Union remains the prime example of how to seize the power and keep it by using different directions of the political violence for decades.(Miller, Rowlands & Tilley, 1989) However, it’s also worth noting that the Italian scientist Vilfredo Pareto wrote that if governing class uses the force and coercion in moderate proportions, it can rule forever. However, until now no one has succeeded in this.(Pareto, 1976) A representative of the modern democratic society is very hostile to any encroachment on his liberty, and of course, such point of view is more than understandable and natural. We have drawn a large part of our attention to negative aspect of the political violence. However, as we have already recalled, sometimes the political brutality may be justified or even necessary. So, let's draw a little part of our attention to the classic. There is such interesting personality in the history of human thought as Niccolo Machiavelli, who has written the political treatise “The Prince”. Machiavelli argues that the ideal ruler should be moderately severe and cruel. However, here we are talking not about the abuse of violence, but we mean a just ruler, who utilizes the political violence as an instrument of suppression of the destructive social elements that threaten to break the law. According to Machiavelli, wise prince should use the political brutality to specific individuals, who really deserve to be punished. Moreover, this punishment will become an example for other people, who intend to violate the law. Also, Niccolo Machiavelli, who has often been called the founder of contemporary political science, argues that it’s impossible for the new ruler to avoid the imputation of cruelty, in connection with the complex social and economic circumstances that the new head of state has to solve.(The Prince. (n.d.)) So, the political violence as a means of achieving political objectives has a number of features and forms. The institute of government is inseparably connected with the political cruelty. Power can takes various forms: violence and coercion, punishment and encouragement, control and management, competition and cooperation. The application of violence can be both negative and positive. Moreover, it can be barbaric, but in other cases it can be sophisticated. The political violence has a great influence on the strength of the institute of government. The application of such a universal tool of power as the political brutality is directly dependent on the political system, which exists in the state. Even though the widespread use of violence is usually typical of authoritarian or totalitarian regimes, in countries with a democratic regime it also exists. The political savagery is using for a change of government and for retention of it, or even for the maintenance of existing order in state, etc. Moreover, sometimes the application of the political brutality is necessary. So, such political instrument as the violence is versatile. Moreover, the unity among scholars in understanding of this political phenomenon is absent. However, numerous political scientists, sociologists and other scholars have studied it in very detailed way. Some scholars are arguing that the political cruelty is a terrible thing; however it’s impossible to deny that mankind has been accompanied by the violence throughout whole its history: starting from the ancient empires and ending with modern political events. The political violence was evolving and changing together with the humankind.

Ahn, C. (1985). Social development and political violence: A cross-national causal analysis. Seoul: Seoul National University Press. Apter, D. E. (1993). Democracy, violence and emancipatory movements notes for a theory of inversionary discourse. Geneva: UNRISD. Buss, A. H. (1961). The psychology of aggression. New York: Wiley. Miller, D., Rowlands, M. J., & Tilley, C. Y. (1989). Domination and resistance. London: Unwin Hyman. Pareto, V. (1968). The rise and fall of the elites; an application of theoretical sociology. Totowa, NJ: Bedminster Press. Pareto, V. (1976). Sociological writings. New York: Totowa. Shearer, D. (2013, March). "State Violence, Repression, and Governance in the Soviet Union from the 1920s to the 1950s" | David Shearer - Academia.edu. Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.academia.edu/3305126/_State_Violence_Repression_and_Governance_in_the_Soviet_Union_from_the_1920s_to_the_1950s_ The Nietzsche Channel: Beyond Good and Evil. Epigrams and Interludes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.thenietzschechannel.com/works-pub/bge/bge4.htm The Prince. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2016, from https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/machiavelli/niccolo/m149p/complete.html#chapter17 Wrong, D. H. (1979). Power, its forms, bases, and uses. New York: Harper and Row.

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Majority of Mass. voters believe 2024 election could lead to violence

Massachusetts residents are deeply concerned about political tensions and the prospect of violence as the 2024 presidential election approaches, according to a new GBH News/CommonWealth Beacon poll conducted by the MassINC Polling Group.

The online survey was conducted shortly after Donald Trump and Joe Biden both clinched the number of delegates to become their parties' presumptive nominees. Results from the poll ( toplines, crosstabs ) show 72% of respondents said political tensions in the United States are either very bad or constitute a crisis, while 64% said it’s either somewhat or very likely that the U.S. will see major violence in relation to the presidential election.

Steve Koczela, the president of the MassINC Polling Group, said the findings indicate that anxiety about the current political moment cuts across different segments of the Massachusetts populace.

“The thing that really sticks out to me is just the number of demographic groups where this is a majority,” Koczela said. “There’s really not anybody who thinks everything is going great right now.”

Still, Koczela noted, concern is somewhat more acute among certain subgroups. For example, while 76% of white respondents said political tensions were very bad or constitute a crisis, just 49% of Black respondents did. In addition, 68% of Asian residents and 60% of Latino residents shared that assessment.

There was more parity along racial and ethnic lines when it came to anticipating major violence in connection with the presidential election, with 66% of white residents, 62% of Black and Latino residents, and 50% of Asian residents calling it very or somewhat likely.

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How should the media cover donald trump's violent messages, trump, biden prepare for rematch after clinching nominations, biden offers a olive branch in new hampshire after primary skirmish.

Responses to that same question varied according to political identity, though. A total 70% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning unenrolled voters called major violence somewhat or very likely, compared to 58% of Republicans and Republican-leaning residents. Among independents, that view was shared by 61% of respondents.

The poll was conducted from March 21 to March 29 among 1,002 Massachusetts residents. It has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

The poll did not ask respondents if they believed political violence is sometimes justified. However, Koczela pointed out that, in a recent PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist survey, one in five U.S. adults said Americans might need to use political violence to get the country back on track. That view was endorsed by 12% of Democrats, 18% of independents, and 28% of Republicans.

Juliette Kayyem, who served as Homeland Security advisor to former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, said the GBH News/CommonWealth Beacon poll conducted by the MassINC Polling Group reflects an "unprecedented" level of pessimism about the nation's civic health.

“All but 7% of respondents believe that the tensions are [somewhat] bad, very bad, or at crisis,” said Kayyem, who also served as former President Barack Obama’s assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. “That’s a number I’ve never seen before, in terms of … the lack of hope that we can try to bridge our differences through the democratic process.”

Kayyem said that, in the presidential race, there’s a clear asymmetry between the two leading candidates when it comes to the endorsement of political violence as acceptable. She noted that Trump has warned of a “bloodbath” if Biden wins in November, and recently shared a video of a pickup truck with an image of Biden hog-tied on its rear gate.

“We can try to both-sides the issue: ‘Oh well, there’s Antifa on the Left,’” Kayyem said “But the reality is that one candidate, Donald Trump, is nurturing violence or the threat of violence as part of a campaign strategy. And that is having consequences on how the public perceives what’s ahead.”

Kayyem argued that Biden should be taking concrete steps to guard against the prospect of election-related violence, an argument she also makes in a newly published piece in the Atlantic.

“There are actually things that can be done now, in terms of the sharing of intelligence, designating the election a special national security event, getting the courthouses ready and protected,” Kayyem said. “We need to take the threat seriously and not be afraid of the politics of taking it seriously … I want to see lots more activity by the White House as the protector of the Constitution, as the guarantor of free and fair elections.”

The Boston branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on the poll’s findings, but a spokesperson provided a statement saying the bureau is already engaged in “extensive preparations” to guarantee that the election will be secure.

“The FBI has a responsibility to plan for a host of potential scenarios related to election fraud, voter suppression, foreign malign influence, malicious cyber activity against election infrastructure, and threats to election workers,” the spokesperson said, adding that members of the public should “remain vigilant” and “immediately report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.”

Some research has shown that fear can depress electoral turnout. But Marisol Santiago, the policy and organizing director of the voter advocacy group MassVOTE, says she doesn’t think concerns about political tensions and violence will keep the people she works with from heading to the polls in November.

In fact, Santiago says, a different set of concerns predominates in the conversations she has with the electorate.

“What I am hearing is concerns about housing insecurity,” Santiago said. “I’m hearing concerns about healthcare, and wanting to make sure that families can stay where they live ... and that resources are being provided to historically marginalized communities.

“Here in Massachusetts, you should feel confident to walk into your polling location [and] cast your ballot,” Santiago said. “That is our right ... We will continue to organize in the ways that we have in the past to make sure that our communities are casting their ballots, and that they are accessing their ballots in their polling locations with no problem whatsoever.”

Editor's note: Juliette Kayyem is a member of the board of MassINC, the nonpartisan public policy think tank that publishes CommonWealth Beacon.

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Politics and Violence

Updated 27 April 2023

Subject Hero ,  Interpersonal Relationship ,  Nazi Germany

Downloads 50

Category History ,  Life

Topic Community Violence ,  Holocaust ,  Leader

Political leaders appointed and elected by citizens have been perpetrators of violence since time immemorial, dating back to the Holocaust (Arendt, 5). Political leaders claim to be upholding law and order while encouraging violations of citizens' rights. According to Arendt, the accused, Adolf Eichmann, a former Nazi soldier and active participant in the Holocaust, claimed that he was carrying out German government orders to kill and persecute Jews (13). Despite having participated in the mass slaughter of innocent Jews during the Nazi government and the "Second World War," the accused pleads not guilty. Hence had committed crimes against humanity and was to be sentenced to the death penalty (Arendt, 5). He remains oblivious of the fact that he committed inhumane crimes and insists that he is guilty only in God’s eyes and not the Jews’. He argues that the crimes were committed by the state and not by him. This paper uses other instances to expound on the violent nature of politics and whether this violence is legitimate and if it should be constrained or not, the thesis statement being, political violence should not be legitimized it is used to exclusively increase citizens’ welfare otherwise; it will promote infringement of human rights. Nature of Political Violence According to Azoulay, when different forms of government develop different perceptions of concepts such as human rights and citizenship to fit their needs, the concepts in question cease to be differential sovereignty concepts and become sovereign discourse concepts (8). Implying that, for sovereign discourse human rights to exist, the existing political parties torture and if possible do away with human rights activists. This has led to the development of organizations’ which protect citizens from being imposed by political leaders’ actions that limit the former’s exercising of his/her rights (Azoulay, 9). The writer argues that infringement of rights which are not contested for lead to legalization and naturalization of the same and instances to seek justice are viewed as disruptions of law and order hence the human rights activists end up being ‘eliminated’. Their activities are interpreted as protests and they are treated as such. Political actors who raped women after the Second World War were covered up by the government banning documentation of the atrocities they committed against Indians so that there would be no proof, victims who sought justice were silenced and tagged with accusatory names such as rioters and terrorists (Azoulay, 19). According to Pateman, “political right originates from the sex right” (3). The terms of a contract determine the relationship between the contract holders. The social contract was determined by the conditions defining it implying that the replacement of the patriarchal control with the paternal right in sex and labor relations signified male dominance. Men’s satisfaction is fulfilled in the capitalist market while women’s satisfaction in the private market (Pateman, 4). This symbolizes the political arena today; political leaders dominate their subjects and they get satisfaction from making public policies which may impose on the subjects while the subjects seek satisfaction from their personal endeavors such as business activities and their social life. According to Mills, there exists white supremacy in politics; political violence is directed at individuals of color (1). White people use their color to seek influential positions in the society so that they can make people of color their subjects. This is mostly due to the prevalence of terms such as master and slave in the society. “When white people say ‘justice’ they mean ‘just us’. This is a common Black American quote which was simultaneously quoted by the author. It implies that white people get privileges while people of color are denied their rights and exploited. Most perpetrators do this intentionally. There still exist cases of racism-exacerbated actions which are suppressed by the claims of racial equality. This serves the purpose of appeasing people of color and giving them false hope of equality in the political arena. The fact that not all whites have signed the racial contract signifies that only a proportion of white people embrace racism (3). It is therefore, possible to end racism if perpetrators change their perception of people with color and let the racial contract be examined for any flaws rather than hinder its exposure. With the former president of the United States, Barrack Obama, being an African American, it can be said that the racism barrier to success has been overcome, but this is not the case; the existence of ‘mericas’, who support white politicians regardless of their weaknesses and the high capabilities of other opposing politicians of color proves this. Legitimate Forms of Violence Political violence simultaneously divides and unifies. It divides by identifying enemies and indicating legitimate targets. Governments can cause harm to another country so as to preserve the life of its citizens. Such political violence is legitimate since the welfare of citizens in these governments’ countries is being maximized. Legitimate violence does not have to be political in the eyes of everyone. It does not have to be supported by everyone but has to be done solely for the purpose of maximizing citizens’ welfare. Legitimate political violence include actions such as governments protecting themselves from acts of terrorism by bombing the perpetrator’s fire arms and nuclear weapons and defending one’s country in times of war. Governments should prove that the countries in question pose significant threat to their citizens before devising methods to punish the culprits. It should however, be noted that the act of violence is political to the extent that it is legitimate. This implies that criminal acts such as rape and abduction should not occur. Constraining the State’s Violence According to Arendt, political violence is legalized if it is for the purpose of protecting a country’s citizens from attack say during war and terrorisms attacks (11). Adolf Eichmann’s constructive political violence was only during the Second World War. It was however minimized when he committed inhumane crimes. Acts of political violence should not exceed certain points; the major objective should be to increase the welfare of one’s citizens, crimes should not be committed in an individual level. His need to define himself by joining groups and being obedient to legislators, in this case Hitler, showed how political leaders follow the set standards blindly without considering their personal views. Eichmann was determined to follow Hitler’s orders and ended up committing crimes against humanity hence liable to the death penalty (Arendt, 19). His defense in court included his obedience to the state hence taking the wrong lesson from the officials, he says that he later on ceased abiding by the state’s rules since it dawned on him that he had made unwise decisions, the damage had been done. In court, Eichmann knew he was guilty but he still bragged about having committed atrocities against mankind indicating that political leaders with similar needs as the accused commit crimes so that they cannot be viewed as ‘nobodies’ in the society (21). Leaders may join organizations for all the wrong reasons just to be influential hence state’s violence should be constrained. This will prevent an average person, the likes of Eichmann, from relying on platitude defense mechanisms and enable them to think for themselves hence save human lives. Political actors that show reluctance in committing crimes against humanity were referred to as traitors and made fun of by their colleagues (Azoulay, 19). This was regardless of the rights being infringed on being commonly known or not. One of the founders of Zochrot, a non-profit organization meant to create awareness of the Palestinian exodus was banished for claiming his right not to perpetrate violence. No one should be forced to commit a crime and tarnish his/her reputation on grounds of the states’ order unless the violence in question is legitimized. Political violence should be regulated to prevent individuals from developing feelings of guilt as a result of harming others. All workers should realize job satisfaction so that they can perform their duties well. Constraining state violence will enable individuals to know their rights and seek justice with less if no attempts to silence them by perpetrators. According to Azoulay, most rights were infringed due to the victims’ lack of knowledge (17). These rights were not well known therefore some victims remained quiet rather than reporting the culprits. Regulating state violence will create awareness to both the culprits and possible victims of when legitimized political violence ceases to be legal and the legal actions taken against perpetrators. Victims will not be forced to have sexual relations with political actors and will report such individuals to ensure that they face justice. Political violence should not be based on racial backgrounds. Political leaders who view themselves as members of a superior race may impose on citizens of different races. All individuals should be treated equally regardless of their race. Political violence should be regulated to prevent people of color from facing unnecessary torture from elected officials and other political actors who think they are superior to others due to their race. These regulations will also assist in reducing the levels of racism in the political arena. Conclusion Political violence is legitimized only if its sole purpose is to maximize citizens’ welfare. The state can grant another actor the right to use violence without losing its monopoly power provided it remains the only body that can delegate power to other bodies, for instance, military organizations. Individuals granted this power by the state are expected to know the extent to which they can exercise it. Overutilization of their short-lived rights will constitute trials as a result of committing crimes against humanity. State’s violence should be constrained to prevent misuse of office. Failure to do so will result in increased violation of human rights by political leaders through racism, suppression of victims’ efforts to seek justice and forcing individuals to participate in inhumane acts. References Arendt, H. (1963). Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. New York: The Viking Press. Azoulay, A. (2015). What are Human Rights? Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 35(1), 8-21. Mills, C. ,W. (1997). The Racial Contract. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. Pateman, C. (2014). Sexual Contract. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Politics, ideas, and civic life in Massachusetts

Majority of Mass. voters believe 2024 election could lead to violence

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MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS ARE deeply concerned about political tensions and the prospect of violence as the 2024 presidential election approaches, according to a new CommonWealth Beacon /GBH News poll conducted by the MassINC Polling Group.

The online survey was conducted shortly after Donald Trump and Joe Biden both clinched the number of delegates to become their parties’ presumptive nominees. Results from the poll ( toplines, crosstabs ) show 72 percent of respondents said political tensions in the United States are either very bad or constitute a crisis, while 64 percent said it’s either somewhat or very likely that the US will see major violence in relation to the presidential election.

Steve Koczela, the president of the MassINC Polling Group, said the findings indicate that anxiety about the current political moment cuts across different segments of the Massachusetts populace.

“The thing that really sticks out to me is just the number of demographic groups where this is a majority,” Koczela said. “There’s really not anybody who thinks everything is going great right now.”

Still, Koczela noted, concern is somewhat more acute among certain subgroups. For example, while 76 percent of white respondents said political tensions were very bad or constitute a crisis, just 49 percent of Black respondents did. In addition, 68 percent of Asian residents and 60 percent of Latino residents shared that assessment.

There was more parity along racial and ethnic lines when it came to anticipating major violence in connection with the presidential election, with 66 percent of white residents, 62 percent of Black and Latino residents, and 50 percent of Asian residents calling it very or somewhat likely.

Responses to that same question varied according to political identity, though. A total 70 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning unenrolled voters called major violence somewhat or very likely, compared to 58 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning residents. Among independents, that view was shared by 61 percent of respondents.

The poll was conducted from March 21 to March 29 among 1,002 Massachusetts residents. It has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

The poll did not ask respondents if they believed political violence is sometimes justified. However, Koczela pointed out that, in a recent PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist survey, one in five US adults said Americans might need to use political violence to get the country back on track. That view was endorsed by 12 percent of Democrats, 18 percent of independents, and 28 percent of Republicans.

Juliette Kayyem, who served as homeland security advisor to former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, said the poll reflects an “unprecedented” level of pessimism about the nation’s civic health.

“All but 7 percent of respondents believe that the tensions are [somewhat] bad, very bad, or at crisis,” said Kayyem, who also served as former President Barack Obama’s assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. “That’s a number I’ve never seen before, in terms of … the lack of hope that we can try to bridge our differences through the democratic process.” (Kayyem is a member of the board of MassINC, the nonpartisan public policy think tank that publishes CommonWealth Beacon .)

Kayyem said that, in the presidential race, there’s a clear asymmetry between the two leading candidates when it comes to the endorsement of political violence as acceptable. She noted that Trump has warned of a “bloodbath” if Biden wins in November, and recently shared a video of a pickup truck with an image of Biden hog-tied on its rear gate.

“We can try to both-sides the issue: ‘Oh well, there’s Antifa on the left,’” Kayyem said “But the reality is that one candidate, Donald Trump, is nurturing violence or the threat of violence as part of a campaign strategy. And that is having consequences on how the public perceives what’s ahead.”

Kayyem argued that Biden should be taking concrete steps to guard against the prospect of election-related violence, an argument she also makes in a newly published piece in The Atlantic .

“There are actually things that can be done now, in terms of the sharing of intelligence, designating the election a special national security event, getting the courthouses ready and protected,” Kayyem said. “We need to take the threat seriously and not be afraid of the politics of taking it seriously … I want to see lots more activity by the White House as the protector of the Constitution, as the guarantor of free and fair elections.”

The Boston branch of the FBI declined to comment on the poll’s findings, but a spokesperson provided a statement saying the bureau is already engaged in “extensive preparations” to guarantee that the election will be secure.

“The FBI has a responsibility to plan for a host of potential scenarios related to election fraud, voter suppression, foreign malign influence, malicious cyber activity against election infrastructure, and threats to election workers,” the spokesperson said, adding that members of the public should “remain vigilant” and “immediately report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.”

Some research has shown that fear can depress electoral turnout. But Marisol Santiago, the policy and organizing director of the voter advocacy group MassVOTE, says she doesn’t think concerns about political tensions and violence will keep the people she works with from heading to the polls in November.

In fact, Santiago says, a different set of concerns predominates in the conversations she has with the electorate.

“What I am hearing is concerns about housing insecurity,” Santiago said. “I’m hearing concerns about health care, and wanting to make sure that families can stay where they live … and that resources are being provided to historically marginalized communities.”

“Here in Massachusetts, you should feel confident to walk into your polling location [and] cast your ballot,” Santiago said. “That is our right … We will continue to organize in the ways that we have in the past to make sure that our communities are casting their ballots, and that they are accessing their ballots in their polling locations with no problem whatsoever.”

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Trump is 'inciting political violence' sharing Biden hog-tied video: Biden campaign

Trump shared the video on his social media platform on Friday.

President Joe Biden's campaign on Saturday excoriated former President Donald Trump for sharing a video on social media depicting what appears to be an image of Biden tied up and kidnapped in the back of a pickup truck.

"This image from Donald Trump is the type of crap you post when you're calling for a bloodbath or when you tell the Proud Boys to 'stand back and stand by,'" Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement to ABC News.

Earlier this month, while discussing the American auto industry, Trump said there would be a "bloodbath" if he did not win the presidential election in November, a comment that garnered swift backlash from Biden himself.

Trump and his campaign said that he meant a "bloodbath" for the U.S. auto industry, and Trump quickly fundraised off claims his political opponents are spreading misinformation about his remarks.

"Trump is regularly inciting political violence and it's time people take him seriously — just ask the Capitol Police officers who were attacked protecting our democracy on January 6," Tyler added in his statement.

In the video Trump shared on his social media social media platform on Friday, an SUV and a pickup truck are seen driving down a rainy highway with several large flags, including pro-police "thin blue line" ones. On the truck's tailgate is a rendering meant to look as if the president is hog-tied and lying down in the bed of the pick-up.

MORE: Rep. Turner disagrees with Trump's anti-migrant rhetoric but argues he can 'fix' border 'crisis'

Trump shared the video on Friday a day after he attended a wake for slain NYPD officer Jonathan Diller on Long Island, New York, the same day Biden raked in $26 million at a star-studded fundraiser in New York City featuring former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

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Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung pushed back on the rhetoric around the video, "That picture was on the back of a pick up truck that was traveling down the highway," Cheung said in a statement to ABC News on Saturday.

"Democrats and crazed lunatics have not only called for despicable violence against President Trump and his family, they are actually weaponizing the justice system against him," Cheung continued.

The pickup truck also has pro-Trump insignia, including a "TRUMP 4US" license plate and decals saying, "Trump 2024," and "Together we'll make America great again," a reference to Trump's political slogan.

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ABC News Live

24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

Donald Trump accused of 'inciting political violence' after posting video with an image of Joe Biden hog-tied

The Republican presidential candidate sparks condemnation over the footage that contains a picture of Joe Biden with his hands and feet bound painted on the rear of a vehicle.

Saturday 30 March 2024 22:10, UK

Donald Trump has faced fresh criticism after posting a video showing an image of President Joe Biden hog-tied on the tailgate of a passing pick-up truck.

The footage has fuelled accusations the Republican candidate is "inciting political violence" in the run-up to the presidential election , amid increasingly inflammatory rhetoric.

The former US president posted the video on his social media site, Truth Social.

According to the caption it was taken in Long Island, New York, on Thursday, when Mr Trump attended the wake of a New York City police officer who was gunned down during a traffic stop.

The posted video shows a passing truck decked out with "Trump 2024" and flags claiming support for police, with the picture of Mr Biden with his hands and feet bound painted on the rear of the vehicle.

Referring to Mr Trump's efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election that culminated in the storming of Congress, Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign's communications director, said: "Trump is regularly inciting political violence and it's time people take him seriously - just ask the Capitol police officers who were attacked protecting our democracy on 6 January."

But hitting back, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said: "That picture was on the back of a pick-up truck that was travelling down the highway.

"Democrats and crazed lunatics have not only called for despicable violence against President Trump and his family, they are actually weaponising the justice system against him."

In his bid to regain the White House, Mr Trump has ramped up the vitriol.

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Speaking at an Ohio rally earlier this month while talking about the impact of foreign competition on the US motor industry, Mr Trump warned: "If I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole - that's going to be the least of it.

"It's going to be a bloodbath for the country."

Read more on Sky News: Report author defends labelling Biden 'elderly man with poor memory' How does the US election work?

Mr Trump has also talked about immigrants "poisoning the blood of our country" and has described his enemies as "vermin".

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

At one recent rally, Mr Trump went so far as to brand Mr Biden's handling of the contentious Mexico border issue as "a conspiracy to overthrow the United States of America".

Last year, before his indictment in New York over hush money paid on his behalf during his 2016 campaign, Mr Trump posted a photo on social media of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

In a 2018 speech, Mr Biden discussed lewd comments that Mr Trump had made about women and signalled his willingness to physically fight the then president.

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He said at the time: "If we were in high school, I'd take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him."

Earlier this week, shares in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp, the company behind Truth Social, soared on their stock market debut in New York , with the valuation adding billions of dollars to the tycoon's fortune.

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• US election 2024

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