Visions of Political Violence

In this book, Vincenzo Ruggiero offers a typology of different forms of political violence. From systemic and institutional violence, to the behaviour of crowds, to armed conflict and terrorism, Ruggiero draws on a range of perspectives from criminology, social theory, political science, critical legal studies and literary criticism to consider how these forms of violence are linked in an interdependent field of forces.

Ruggiero argues that systemic violence encourages more institutional violence, which in turn weakens the ability of citizens to set up political agendas for change. He advocates for a reduction of all types of violence, which can be enacted through fairer distribution of resources and the provision of political space for contention and negotiation.

This book will be of interest to all those engaged in research on violence, terrorism, armed conflict and the crimes of the powerful. It makes an important contribution to criminological and social theory.

1. Introduction 2. Systemic violence 3. Institutional violence 4. Crowds and group violence 5. Conspiracy and the contemplation of crime 6. Armed struggle and civil war 7. Random killing and martyrdom 8. Chaotic murder 9. Belligerence as sexual violence 10. Numinous terror 11. Violence and social change 12. Conclusion

Vincenzo Ruggiero is Professor of Sociology at Middlesex University. He has worked on penal systems, fiction and crime, illegal markets, social movements and the crimes of the powerful. He has conducted research for the ESRC, the European Commission and the United Nations. Among his recent sole-authored books are Penal Abolitionism (2010), The Crimes of the Economy (2013), Power and Crime (2015) and Dirty Money (2017). In 2016 he was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society of Criminology, Division on Critical Criminology.