The State, Identity and Violence: Political Disintegration in the Post-Cold War World (War and Society)

In this book, a collection of experts investigate the varied forces - from global systems to local beliefs - that lead to civil violence, chaos and, perhaps, a new political order. The State, Identity and Violence explores acts of mass violence occurring within national borders and examines the links such acts have to personal identities and how they challenge the character or very existence of the state. Building upon the anthropological premises of holism and cross-cultural comparison, this volume shows how violent challenges to existing states should be conceptualized as layered problems, with multiple kinds of causes. It not only goes beyond the "ancient hatreds" explanation, but shows the inadequacy of the concept of "ethnic violence" and of theories which treat interests and identities as separate, sometimes opposed variables "The nation-state, long the foundation of the international system, is suddenly in question both as a concept and as a political reality. In this book, a collection of experts investigate the variable forces - from global systems to local beliefs - that lead to civil violence, chaos and, perhaps, a new political order." "The State, Identity and Violence explores acts of mass violence occurring within national borders and examines the links that such acts have to personal identities and how they challenge the character or very existence of the state. Building upon the anthropological premises of holism and cross-cultural comparison, this volume shows how violent challenges to existing states should be conceptualized as layered problems, with a multiple array of causes. It not only goes beyond the "ancient hatreds" explanation, but also shows the inadequacy of the concept of "ethnic violence" and of theories which treat interests and identities as separate, sometimes opposed variables." "The book presents commentaries by respected theorists on the nation-state; the phenomena of state collapse; the state and political science; minority populations and the importance of culture. It also features case studies focusing on violence in Peru, India, the former Yugoslavia, Greece, Liberia, Angola, Chad, Somalia and Papua New Guinea. It will be of interest to students and researchers in the fields of Anthropology, Political Science, International Relations and Sociology."--BOOK JACKET Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Notes on contributors......Page 8 Introduction: violent conflict and control of the state......Page 10 Commentaries......Page 68 Comments on state, identity and violence......Page 70 Forces of reaction and changes of scale in the world system of states......Page 77 The state concept and a world of polities under perpetual siege......Page 98 Tribalism, ethnicity and the state......Page 105 Culture, violence and ethnic nationalism: weighing alternative strategies of explanation and media representation......Page 111 Cases......Page 124 Civil war in Peru: culture and violence in historical perspective......Page 126 ~Religious~ violence in India: Ayodhya and the Hindu right......Page 158 The specter of superfluity: genesis of schism in the dismantling of Yugoslavia......Page 186 From the margins to the center: the Macedonian controversy in contemporary Greece......Page 208 Liberia: civil war and the ~collapse~ of the settler state......Page 226 Angola and the fragmentation of the post-colonial African state......Page 252 A Cold War story: the barbarization of Chad (1966 91)......Page 270 The Cold War and chaos in Somalia: a view from the ground......Page 294 Conflicts versus contracts: political flows and blockages in Papua New Guinea......Page 309 Index......Page 327 1. Comments on state, identity, and violence / Eric R. Wolf 2. Forces of reaction and changes of scale in the world system of states / Joseph A. Tainter 3. The state concept and a world of polities under perpetual siege / Yale H. Ferguson 4. Tribalism, ethnicity, and the state / David Maybury-Lewis 5. Culture, violence and ethnic nationalism: weighing alternative strategies of explanation and media representation / Kay Warren 6. Civil war in Peru : culture and violence in historical perspective / Linda J. Seligmann 7. "Religious" violence in India : Ayodhya and the Hindu right / Johanna M. Lessinger 8. The specter of superfluity : genesis of schism in the dismantling of Yugoslavia / Bette Denich 9. From the margins to the center : the Macedonian controversy in contemporary Greece / Anastasia Karakasidou 10. Liberia : civil war and the "collapse" of the settler state / Diana Deg. Brown 11. Angola and the fragmentation of the post-colonial African state / Helio Belik 12. A Cold War story : the barbarization of Chad (1966-91) / S.P. Reyna 13. The Cold War and chaos in Somalia : a view from the ground / Catherine Besteman 14. Conflicts versus contracts : political flows and blockages in Papua New Guinea / Andrew Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart. With an interdisciplinary approach that combines political and anthropological perspectives, the experts who contributed to this study investigate the varied forces that have led to civil violence, chaos and, perhaps, a new political order in the post-Cold War era If we are to speak of " state, identity and violence," it may behove us to say more clearly how we think about the state and what kind of state we are talking about. Edited By R. Brian Ferguson. Simultaneously Published In The Usa And Canada. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.