Internationales Handbuch der Gewaltforschung.
Abstract
Research on violence in modern Western societies has increased in recent years. There are numerous explanations for this: an actual increase in certain forms of violence, new sensitivities, a return to old forms of violence, a shift of violence to other social spheres, etc. However, a systematic overview of the actual findings has been lacking until now. The "International Handbook of Violence Research" fills this gap. It comprehensively presents long-term developments, but also takes into account very current events. Overall, the sociological focus dominates: violence as a social phenomenon. Accordingly, the articles are grouped according to socio-structural conditions and violence, socialization and learning of violence, experiences of violence and acts of violence, etc. Victims of violence are addressed, as is violence in social institutions, in public spaces, by political groups, or in or through state institutions. The respective discourses of violence, justifications, and processing—thus the entire dynamics of the process—are also addressed. The 62 articles by authors from ten countries also provide analyses with socio-psychological, cultural studies, legal, political science, and historical backgrounds, as well as sociobiological and psychological roots. This creates a complex, multi-perspective picture of a difficult field of research caught between order, destruction, and power.