Violence & security
Table of Contents
Week 1: key concepts and approaches................................................................................2
Lecture 1: Violence and security: introduction and overview .......................................................2
Readings 1:....................................................................................................................................5
Lecture 2: Violence and state formation .......................................................................................6
Readings 2:....................................................................................................................................9
Week 2: international conflict...........................................................................................10
Lecture 3: Nuclear weapons........................................................................................................10
Readings 3:..................................................................................................................................12
Lecture 4: democracy and war.....................................................................................................17
Readings 4...................................................................................................................................20
Week 3: international cooperation and peace...................................................................22
Lecture 5: The United Nations.....................................................................................................22
Readings 5...................................................................................................................................24
Lecture 6: peacebuilding and its limits.........................................................................................27
Readings 6:..................................................................................................................................28
Week 4.............................................................................................................................30
Lecture 7:....................................................................................................................................30
Readings 7...................................................................................................................................31
Lecture 8: ethnic conflict ............................................................................................................33
readings 8........................................................................................................................37
Week 5.............................................................................................................................37
Lecture 9: Genocide ....................................................................................................................37
Lecture 10: Civilian rescue and protection ..................................................................................40
,Week 1: key concepts and approaches
Lecture 1: Violence and security: introduction and overview
1) Introduction
2) Trends of political violence
3) Overview of paradigms and approaches
Conceptualising violence:
- Johan galtung (1969) provides a way to think about violence and peace.
- 2 types of violence :
- Direct Violence: behaviours carried out by a clearly identifiable agent with the
intent to inflict bodily harm → clear actor doing violence + role of intent to harm
→ piu grave, it’s not an accident so you are accountable
- Structural violence: violence as present when humans systematically cannot
fulfil their physical and mental potential. Violence does not require intent and does
not require a clear agent. → there are conditions that compromises humans to live a
decent life. Ex: tuberculosis → if ppl are dying even though there is a cure but they
can’t access it → structural violence.
Course focus: direct violence, forms of political violence (in wartime conflicts where more
than 1000 battle related deaths in a year + in times of “peace” → electoral violence, ecthic
riots…)
,Conceptualising peace:
→ What is meant by Peace? (Johan galtung (1969))
- Negative peace: absence of direct violence
- Positive peace: a self-sustaining condition that protects the human security of a
population → human security is both psychological and physical.
Trends of violence (article lec 1)
How is conflict changing over time, how it affects our society…
Frequency of intrastate wars → civil wars often in 99’ (ex: Syria).
Rise of non state conflicts in recent years (Syria: 1000 different armed groups fighting each
other)
Where?
Conceptualising Paradigms
- What do we mean by Paradigms?
- comes from Thomas Kuhn (1962)
- Paradigms and theoretical frameworks are lenses through which we see the world → how
they shape, identity different aspects of how we see the world
- They contain assumptions about:
- most important actors, their behaviours and motivations
- what leads to war and violence
- what allows for peace and security
Paradigms and approaches ro violence and security:
1) Approaches to interstates war
2) To intrastate wars
Realism:
conditioned by cold war context
Actors: state is principal actor of international politics
Nature of the state: unitary and rational actor seeking to maximise its own interest +
National security is a first order preference. + National security is so important to
avoid anarchy.
Understanding of conflict/order:
- international system characterised by anarchy → security is not guaranteed -
→ to defend themselves, states need power (defined as material capabilities)
because it is the key to security.
- likelihood of war: shaped by distribution of power in the international
system → if war maximise utilities let’s go to war (rational choice)
- power is a central concern to realism because its key to security
Liberalism
, Actors: state and non state actors are both important (ex: transnational advocacy
networks: Keck and Sikkink 1998).
Nature of state: state preferences: aggregate of preferences of a wide range of
state and societal actors.
-preferences not necessarily opposing
- national security → not always the most important consideration
→ for them state: aggregate of different actors
Understanding of conflict/order:
- war: is not inevitable, cooperation and mutual gains are possible
→ positive sum game→ all gain from peace?
- order is possible through:
1) economic interdependence and free trade → war economic impact for everyone so
not war
2) international institutions → reduce costs for cooperation so more
cooperation
3) democratic institution
Constructivism:
Actors: actors and interests that drives them are socially constructed
- Assumptions about agent behaviour: political action is shaped by identities and
interests. Who the actor is shapes what they view as appropriate action. Conflict
and peace are shaped by content of intedities and interest, which is why norms are
so important to social constructivism.
Applying theories:
- How would realists explain the Russian decision to invade Ukraine?
→ balance of security (Nato too close to borders). And deterrence.
- How would liberalists explain it?
→ economic dimensions: how can russia afford such war → limit because european
economic dependence with sanctions and stuff ?? state: authoritarian so dometic
actors have less voice?
- How would constructivists explain it?
→ nato image of western society: Russia wants to protect it and past soviet territories
from western ideologies and influence.
Instrumentalism:
- Elites as primary explanatory variable for the presence/absence of conflict -
Assumption of instrumentalism: elites seek maximisation of political power + other
material gains and will foment violence to meet their interests.
→ elites interest and behaviour are centred to this approach
→ if elites think that they will gain something by conflict, they will start a conflict, the
same with peace.
Table of Contents
Week 1: key concepts and approaches................................................................................2
Lecture 1: Violence and security: introduction and overview .......................................................2
Readings 1:....................................................................................................................................5
Lecture 2: Violence and state formation .......................................................................................6
Readings 2:....................................................................................................................................9
Week 2: international conflict...........................................................................................10
Lecture 3: Nuclear weapons........................................................................................................10
Readings 3:..................................................................................................................................12
Lecture 4: democracy and war.....................................................................................................17
Readings 4...................................................................................................................................20
Week 3: international cooperation and peace...................................................................22
Lecture 5: The United Nations.....................................................................................................22
Readings 5...................................................................................................................................24
Lecture 6: peacebuilding and its limits.........................................................................................27
Readings 6:..................................................................................................................................28
Week 4.............................................................................................................................30
Lecture 7:....................................................................................................................................30
Readings 7...................................................................................................................................31
Lecture 8: ethnic conflict ............................................................................................................33
readings 8........................................................................................................................37
Week 5.............................................................................................................................37
Lecture 9: Genocide ....................................................................................................................37
Lecture 10: Civilian rescue and protection ..................................................................................40
,Week 1: key concepts and approaches
Lecture 1: Violence and security: introduction and overview
1) Introduction
2) Trends of political violence
3) Overview of paradigms and approaches
Conceptualising violence:
- Johan galtung (1969) provides a way to think about violence and peace.
- 2 types of violence :
- Direct Violence: behaviours carried out by a clearly identifiable agent with the
intent to inflict bodily harm → clear actor doing violence + role of intent to harm
→ piu grave, it’s not an accident so you are accountable
- Structural violence: violence as present when humans systematically cannot
fulfil their physical and mental potential. Violence does not require intent and does
not require a clear agent. → there are conditions that compromises humans to live a
decent life. Ex: tuberculosis → if ppl are dying even though there is a cure but they
can’t access it → structural violence.
Course focus: direct violence, forms of political violence (in wartime conflicts where more
than 1000 battle related deaths in a year + in times of “peace” → electoral violence, ecthic
riots…)
,Conceptualising peace:
→ What is meant by Peace? (Johan galtung (1969))
- Negative peace: absence of direct violence
- Positive peace: a self-sustaining condition that protects the human security of a
population → human security is both psychological and physical.
Trends of violence (article lec 1)
How is conflict changing over time, how it affects our society…
Frequency of intrastate wars → civil wars often in 99’ (ex: Syria).
Rise of non state conflicts in recent years (Syria: 1000 different armed groups fighting each
other)
Where?
Conceptualising Paradigms
- What do we mean by Paradigms?
- comes from Thomas Kuhn (1962)
- Paradigms and theoretical frameworks are lenses through which we see the world → how
they shape, identity different aspects of how we see the world
- They contain assumptions about:
- most important actors, their behaviours and motivations
- what leads to war and violence
- what allows for peace and security
Paradigms and approaches ro violence and security:
1) Approaches to interstates war
2) To intrastate wars
Realism:
conditioned by cold war context
Actors: state is principal actor of international politics
Nature of the state: unitary and rational actor seeking to maximise its own interest +
National security is a first order preference. + National security is so important to
avoid anarchy.
Understanding of conflict/order:
- international system characterised by anarchy → security is not guaranteed -
→ to defend themselves, states need power (defined as material capabilities)
because it is the key to security.
- likelihood of war: shaped by distribution of power in the international
system → if war maximise utilities let’s go to war (rational choice)
- power is a central concern to realism because its key to security
Liberalism
, Actors: state and non state actors are both important (ex: transnational advocacy
networks: Keck and Sikkink 1998).
Nature of state: state preferences: aggregate of preferences of a wide range of
state and societal actors.
-preferences not necessarily opposing
- national security → not always the most important consideration
→ for them state: aggregate of different actors
Understanding of conflict/order:
- war: is not inevitable, cooperation and mutual gains are possible
→ positive sum game→ all gain from peace?
- order is possible through:
1) economic interdependence and free trade → war economic impact for everyone so
not war
2) international institutions → reduce costs for cooperation so more
cooperation
3) democratic institution
Constructivism:
Actors: actors and interests that drives them are socially constructed
- Assumptions about agent behaviour: political action is shaped by identities and
interests. Who the actor is shapes what they view as appropriate action. Conflict
and peace are shaped by content of intedities and interest, which is why norms are
so important to social constructivism.
Applying theories:
- How would realists explain the Russian decision to invade Ukraine?
→ balance of security (Nato too close to borders). And deterrence.
- How would liberalists explain it?
→ economic dimensions: how can russia afford such war → limit because european
economic dependence with sanctions and stuff ?? state: authoritarian so dometic
actors have less voice?
- How would constructivists explain it?
→ nato image of western society: Russia wants to protect it and past soviet territories
from western ideologies and influence.
Instrumentalism:
- Elites as primary explanatory variable for the presence/absence of conflict -
Assumption of instrumentalism: elites seek maximisation of political power + other
material gains and will foment violence to meet their interests.
→ elites interest and behaviour are centred to this approach
→ if elites think that they will gain something by conflict, they will start a conflict, the
same with peace.
