Overcoming Evil Genocide, Violent Conflict, and Terrorism

by Staub, Ervin

• ISBN13: 9780195382044
• ISBN10: 0195382048
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-10
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Overcoming Evil describes the origins or influences leading to genocide, violent conflict and terrorism. It identifies principles and practices of prevention, and of reconciliation between groups after violence, or before violence thereby to prevent violence. It uses both past cases such as the Holocaust, and contemporary ones such as Rwanda, the Congo, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, contemporary terrorism, and the relations between the Dutch and Muslim minorities, which also has relevance to other European countries, as examples. The book draws on the author's previous work on all these issues, as well as on research in genocide studies, the study of conflict and of terrorism, and psychological research on group relations. It also describes the work of the author and his associates in real world settings, such as promoting reconciliation in Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo. The book considers what needs to be done to prevent impending or stop ongoing violence. It emphasizes early prevention, when violence generating conditions are present and a psychological and social evolution toward violence has begun, but not yet immediate danger of intense violence. The book considers the role of difficult social or life conditions, repression, culture, the institutions or structure of society, the psychology of individuals and groups, and the behavior of witnesses or bystanders within and outside societies. It emphasizes psychological processes, such as differentiation between us and them and devaluation of the "other," past victimization and psychological woundedness, the power of ideas and people's commitment to destructive ideologies. It considers humanizing the other, healing from past victimization, the creation of constructive ideologies and groups and how these help people develop cultures and institutions that make violence less likely. The book asks what needs to be accomplished to prevent violence, how it can be done, and who can do it. It aims to promote knowledge, understanding, and "active bystandership" by leaders and government officials, members of the media and citizens to prevent violence and create harmonious societies.

Author Biography

Ervin Staub has taught at Harvard and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He studied the influences that lead caring, helping, altruism in adults and children, the origins of genocide and other mass violence, the prevention of violence between groups and reconcliation after violence. He published extensively on these topics. He has also worked in many real world settings, on projects ranging from reconciliation and the prevention of new violence in Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo, to reducing the use of unnecessary force by police, to creating caring classrooms.

Table of Contents

Introduction: I. Origins, Prevention, Reconciliation	p. 3
Introduction: II. Early and Late Prevention, the Costs of Violence, Evil and Goodness	p. 26
The Origins of Mass Violence
The Sources of Conflict between Groups and Primary Examples	p. 51
Instigating Conditions: Starting Points of Mass Violence	p. 100
Psychological and Societal/Group Processes That Arise from Instigating Conditions	p. 132
Learning by Doing in Individuals and Groups: The Evolution of Extreme Violence	p. 166
Internal and External Bystanders: Their Passivity, Complicity, and Role in the Evolution of Violence	p. 195
Cultural/Societal Characteristics That Make Hostility and Violence More Likely	p. 208
Perpetration and the Perpetrators	p. 239
Understanding the Woundedness/Psychological Transformation of All Parties in Mass Violence	p. 274
Prevention and Reconciliation
Introduction and Late Prevention	p. 289
Promoting Understanding, Healing, and Reconciliation in Rwanda	p. 300
Constructive Responses to Difficult Life Conditions and Conflict, Preventive Diplomacy, and Dialogue	p. 309
Developing Positive Orientation to the ôOtherö: Humanizing and Contact with the Other	p. 327
Beyond ôUsö and ôThemö: Constructive Ideologies and Groups, Common Identities, Inclusive Caring, and Pluralism	p. 343
Changing Hearts and Minds: Information, Peace Education, Deradicalization, and Public Education in Rwanda and the Congo	p. 362
The Potential and Power of Active Bystanders: Citizens, Leaders, Nations, and the International System	p. 387
Generating Constructive Action by Leaders and Citizens, Creating Structures for Prevention	p. 406
Healing/Psychological Recovery and Reconciliation	p. 430
Other Elements of Reconciliation: Complex Truth, Collective Memory, Shared History, and Justice	p. 442
Forgiveness, Healing, and Reconciliation	p. 470
Raising Inclusively Caring, Morally Courageous Children and Altruism Born of Suffering	p. 489
Recommendations and Conclusions	p. 498
References	p. 519
Author Index	p. 551
Subject Index	p. 561
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