From the reviews:
“Sophie Body-Gendrot and Pieter Spierenburg bring together a collection of essays on the social construction of violence in Western Europe. … the book’s strength lies in its conceptual sophistication and in its ability to pull together valuable points of view. … an extraordinary job of describing both the construction of violence and its changing nature. The editors and authors have produced a work that is an excellent primer for students and faculty seeking to understand violence in both a general and a particular sense.” (H. V. Savitch, Terrorism & Political Violence, 2012)
Has violence changed over the centuries? Has it always held the same meanings for us?
Will it always be a given in society?
Taking the sociocultural long view, Violence in Europe analyzes the prevalence and role of violence―from street crime to terrorist attacks, homicide to genocide―in the evolution of human and national behavior. The editors and 14 colleagues in history, anthropology, sociology, and psychology focus on Northern and Western Europe, examining centuries of violent phenomena, from the cultural logic of the Middle Ages to today’s soccer riots and security alerts. The contributors’ examination of social constructions (honor codes, class and gender roles) and public ambivalence (acceptance, abhorrence, fascination) regarding violence sheds needed light on current dynamics in law enforcement, political systems, and what many have termed “the civilization of violence.”
Findings from Britain, France, Ireland, Belgium, and Scandinavia explore:
- The paradoxes of ethnic violence and insider/outsider thinking in an increasingly multicultural world.
- Trends in interpersonal violence during wartime and peacetime.
- The gendering of violence, from early French marital laws to London’s underground nightlife.
- The growth of cities: modernization, conflict, aggression.
- Modern prevention and surveillance strategies: effective solutions, complicating the problem, or some middle ground?
Reflecting innovative methods of research and interpretation, Violence in Europe is thought-provoking and instructive for researchers and students in psychology and criminology. And with the mounting global presence of violence today, this is reading with profound implications for the future.
“Any reader will appreciate the refreshing combination of theory and detail to be found here.Together with their collaborators Body-Gendrot and Spierenburg have produced a book that should be read by scholars, students and anybody interested in how violence transcends nations and cultures.”
H.V. Savitch
Brown and Williamson Distinguished Research Professor
The University of Louisville
About the Author
With a Ph.D. in political science from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques and a B.A. and M.A. in American Studies from the University of Paris-Sorbonne, Sophie Body-Gendrot is a Professor of Political Science and of American studies at the Sorbonne, Paris. She founded the Center for Urban Studies (CEUMA). She is a researcher at the Centre de recherche sociologique sur le droit et les institutions pénales (CNRS-CESDIP-Dept of Justice) and an expert for the program Urban Age at the London School of Economics on safety and public space. She is also a member of the French Civilian Police Review Commission. She has wrote or co-edited more than fifteen books and over a hundred articles. The most recent works related to urban violence and public policies are La peur détruira-t-elle la ville? (Will Fear Destroy the City?); Violence in Europe (coedited with P. Spierenburg); Sortir des banlieues: Pour en finir avec la tyrannie des territories (Getting Out of Inner-cities: Putting an End to Territorial Tyranny); Police et discriminations raciales: Le tabou français; La société américaine après le 11 septembre?; Villes: La fin de la violence?; The Social Control of Cities; Villes et violence; and a chapter in The Endless City called “Confronting Fear.”
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