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CIVIL VIOLENCE AND THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM - PART I THE SCOPE OF CIVIL VIOLENCE

NCJ Number
63431
Author(s)
ANON
Date Published
1971
Length
31 pages
Annotation
THESE ADELPHI PAPER ESSAYS, GIVEN FOR THE THIRTEENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES IN 1971, FOCUS ON THE RECENT CAUSES AND DIVERSITY OF CIVIL VIOLENCE.
Abstract
USING THE CONFERENCE THEME OF 'CIVIL VIOLENCE AND THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM,' THE THREE ESSAYS GIVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE PHENOMENON OF CIVIL VIOLENCE, DEFINED, FOR CONFERENCE PURPOSES, AS ANY PRIVATE POLITICAL VIOLENCE WHICH AIMS TO INFLUENCE OR OVERTHROW GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING GUERRILLA WARFARE AND EXCLUDING CRIMINAL VIOLENCE AND FULL-SCALE REGULAR WAR BETWEEN STATES. THE INTRODUCTORY ESSAY DESCRIBES CAUSES OF RECENT CIVIL VIOLENCE STEMMING FROM CHANGING INSTITUTIONS AND PHILOSOPHIES; PROBLEMS OF CONTAINMENT AND CONTROL; POSSIBLE FORMS OF CIVIL VIOLENCE DEGENERATION; REASONS FOR ITS PREDICTED INCREASE; AND THE IMPACT OF CIVIL VIOLENCE ON THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM. TRADITIONAL AND MODERN FORMS OF VIOLENCE ARE DISCUSSED IN THE SECOND ESSAY WHICH SUGGESTS THAT THE DRAMATIC INCREASE IN MODERN POLITICAL VIOLENCE REFLECTS A DEPRECIATION OF TRADITIONAL VALUES. IN THE THIRD ESSAY, VIOLENCE IS SEEN AS HAVING A TRANSFORMATIVE FUNCTION OR ABILITY TO BRING ABOUT SUDDEN CHANGE, AS COMPARED WITH INTEGRATIVE VIOLENCE WHERE CHANGE IS ACCOMPLISHED SLOWLY OVER SEVERAL GENERATIONS. NATIONAL INTEGRATION IS VIEWED AS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT INTERNAL CONFLICT, THIS CONFLICT BEING CHARACTERIZED BY COEXISTENCE, CONTACT, COMPROMISE, AND COALESCENCE. FOOTNOTES AND A LIST OF ADELPHI PAPERS ARE PROVIDED. SEE ALSO NCJ 63432 AND 63433. (AOP)