Theories on the Psychology of Mass-Violence

2005

International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2016

The aim of this study is to evaluate the status of criminological theories in Turkey and to present some recommendations to follow in the future. Unfortunately, some sub-disciplines in social sciences in Turkey have been relatively less developed. This is especially valid for criminology or sociological studies of crime. More relavant to this paper, there have been a limited number of tests of western-originated criminological theories in Turkey. It is suggested that Turkish scholars test all the existing criminological theories in the context of Turkey and, more importantly, tend to develop criminological theories that reflect Turkish realities.

Maybe one of the least utilized disciplines in our ongoing efforts to better conceptualize terrorism has been sociology. Within the existing literature, it has been clearly visible that psychiatry, psychology, political science and social psychology, etc. accommodate a lot more researches and studies on terrorism than sociology. This article is a humble attempt to fill that gap using mostly macro level approaches and sociology's basic theoretical paradigms. Functionalism, conflict and symbolic interactionism were separately applied to the phenomenon of terrorism and the resulting arguments have been used to better understand it from a more sociological viewpoint. Moving from the unfortunate prerequisite suggesting terrorism as one of the inseparable aspects of our modern individual and social life, it has been established that with the sociological understanding of terrorism we will be able to effectively identify the underlying social reasons to it. This will pave the way for more effective long term solutions.

In this monograph, the author applied his concept of criminology as the science dealing with criminal phenomenon, i.e., the crime, the perpetrator and the victim of crime, criminality, as well as the way in which a society reacts to criminal behaviour. That is the reason why he divided all theories in criminology into two groups. First, there are theories in criminology in stricto sensu (classical, positivistic, theories of social reaction and new criminological theories). In the other group, there are theories in victimology and penology, conceived (comprehended) as the criminological disciplines (along with the criminology in stricto sensu, they constitute criminology in a broader sense).

Konfrontasi: Jurnal Kultural, Ekonomi dan Perubahan Sosial, 2021

I. Introduction Towards an Unlikely Definition of Political Violence In this article we will approach the phenomena of political violence with an inclusive criterion, preventing moralizing criterion as a unique reference, we will observe different actors (individual and collective even States), and philosophical, psychological, and symbolic implications, inextricable part of the concept of violence. First, a remark about political violence shows and advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage for the creation of this concept is a necessary and a healthy mixture of approaches. Indeed, a multidisciplinary topic, violence meets scientific aspirations: of combining sociological, political, historical, philosophical, and psychological even law perspectives. Regarding the disadvantage, the existence of multiple violence reflections and uniformity what is at stake is not only the difference between the intensity of the practices but also its purpose and nature. In addition, how to measure violence before mentioned is complicated. Though is odd to say, political violence is relative and its perception changes depending on time, social means, and cultural universes. This shows how violence shall be quoted to exist, it could not exist as such, therefore is the result of a context a struggle of power. Furthermore, extreme violence, which expression is tough and equal comes from the logic of the concept. Violence cannot be objectified.

Public health, social service, community action, and criminal justice practitioners work with many of the same victims and, or offenders involved in violent criminal, fanatical, or totalitarian assaults in various global locations. Offenders and victims often live within the same marginalized communities, in different disorganized communities in conflict, or in disadvantaged communities or more socially advantaged communities at odds with one another. In this time of ambitious evidence-based government reforms and innovations, a paradigm is needed that links the theoretical and methodological tools guiding medical, social, and behavioral science, policy decisions-makers, and practitioners, e.g., as with the "epidemiological criminology" approach. 1 High incidence of violent victimization in certain historical periods, locations, and populations 2, 3, 4 spreads experiences of "psychic impairment", similar to the effects of the much less prevalent but symbolically charged hate crimes 5 that have a broad impact on victim's home communities which experience feelings of vulnerability and secondary victimization of those "indirectly exposed" 5 to the emotional effects of "victim blaming", and other consequences of having actually been assaulted, 6 and on offender's communities that are stigmatized by association. Such difficult structural complexity is rendered far more problematic by the contesting and conflation of variously accurate statistics and unsubstantiated fork or ideological presumptions.

As the most comprehensive edited volume to be published on perpetrators and perpetration of mass violence, the volume sets a new agenda for perpetrator research by bringing together contributions from such diverse disciplines as political science, sociology, social psychology, history, anthropology and gender studies, allowing for a truly interdisciplinary discussion of the phenomenon of perpetration. The cross-case nature of the volume allows the reader to see patterns across case studies, bringing findings from inter alia the Holocaust, the genocides in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, and the civil wars in Cambodia and Côte d’Ivoire into conversation with each other. The chapters of this volume are united by a common research interest in understanding what constitutes perpetrators as actors, what motivates them, and how dynamics behind perpetration unfold. Their attention to the interactions between disciplines and cases allows for the insights to be transported into more abstract ideas on perpetration in general. Amongst other aspects, they indicate that instead of being an extraordinary act, perpetration is often ordinary, that it is crucial to studying perpetrators and perpetration not from looking at the perpetrators as actors but by focusing on their deeds, and that there is a utility of ideologies in explaining perpetration, when we differentiate them more carefully and view them in a more nuanced light. This volume will be vital reading for students and scholars of genocide studies, human rights, conflict studies and international relations.

Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta u Splitu, 2022