Wilhelm Heitmeyer

International handbook of violence research

Preface. I: The Framework of the Handbook. 1. Violence: The Difficulties of a Systematic International Review W. Heitmeyer, J. Hagan. 2. The Concept of Violence P. Imbusch. 3. The Long-term Development of Violence: Empirical Findings and Theoretical Approach to Interpretation M. Eisner. II: Research on Violence: An Interdisciplinary Approach with a Focus on Social Sciences. 1. Societal Structures and Institutions: Social Conditions and State Agents. 1.1. Social Structures and Inequalities R.D. Crutchfield, T. Wadsworth, J.F. Short Jr., C. Hagemann-White. 1.2. Violence in and by State Institutions M. Hanagan, P. Longerich, G. Kummel, P. Klein, R.D. Crelinsten, J.-P. Brodeur. 2. Groups and Collectivities: Political and Ideological Violence. 2.1. Ethnopolitical Conflict and Separatist Violence T. Gurr, A. Pitsch. 2.2. Ethnic Violence A. Wimmer, C. Schetter. 2.3. The Socio-Anthropological Interpretation of Violence G. Elwert. 2.4. Civil Wars P. Waldmann. 2.5. Terrorism F. Reinares. 2.6. Violence from Religious Groups J. Pahl. 2.7. Vigilantism D. Kowalewski. 2.8. Pogroms W. Bergmann. 2.9. Violence and New Social Movements D. Ruscht. 2.10. Violence and the New Left D. della Porta. 2.11. Right-Wing Extremist Violence W. Heitmeyer. 2.12. Large-Scale Violence as Contentious Politics C. Tilly. 3. Violent Individuals: Perpetrators and Motives. 3.1. Processes ofLearning and Socialization J.T. Tedeschi, R.F. Baumeister, B.J. Bushman, E.V.E. Hodges, N.A. Card, J. Isaacs, H. Lukesch, H. Foster, J. Hagan. 3.2. Evolutionary and Social Biological Approaches M. Daly, M. Wilson, L. Baker, G. Albrecht, A. Blumstein, D. Hobbs, S. Messner. 4. Victims of Violence: Individuals and Groups. 4.1. Violence against Children J. Gabarino, C.P. Bradshaw. 4.2. Violence in Intimate Relationships P. Russell, R. Dobash, R.E. Dobash. 4.3. Suicide D. Lester. 4.4. Violence against the Socially Expendable E.A. Fattah. 4.5. Violence against Ethnic and Religious Minorities T. Bjorgo. 4.6. Hate Crimes Directed at Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Victims J. McDevitt, J. Williamson. 4.7. Trauma and Violence in Children and Adolescents: A Developmental Perspective B.A. van der Kolk, A. Streeck-Fischer. 5. Social Opportunity Structures: Institutions and Social Spaces. 5.1. Violence in Social Institutions R.J. Gelles, G. Klewin, K.J. Tillmann, G. Weingart, V. di Martino, E. Dunning. 5.2. Violence in the Public Space R. Kolbel, F. Dubet. 6. Violence Discourses: Ideologies and Justifications. 6.1. Discourses and Ideologies T. Meyer, H. Munkler, M. Llanque, K. Burgess-Jackson, V. Krech, J. Nieraad. 6.2. Justification Strategies D. Grimm, A. Funk, O. Backes, P. Reichenbach, H. Bielefeldt, S. Lamnek. 7. Processes and Dynamics: Escalation and De-Escalation. 7.1. Fear of Violent Crime K. Boers. 7.2. Public Opinion and Violence H.M.

Integrationspotenziale einer modernen Gesellschaft

Mit Beitragen u.a. von Dieter Rucht, Sighard Neckel, Roland Eckert, Gertrud Nunner-Winkler, Hans Georg Soeffner, Helmut Thome, Hartmut Haussermann und Klaus Boehnke

Hostility and Violence towards Foreigners in Germany

Racism, hostility towards foreigners, ethnocentrism, fear of deviance from the norm and privileges for local residents are phenomena that have now been present in European societies for many years, in many aspects and to a varying extent. They are based on ideologies of inequality, non-equivalence and unequal treatment of human beings. When such ideas become linked to violence, extreme right-wing orientations and behaviours result.

Disintegration, recognition, and violence: a theoretical perspective.

The literature explaining deviance, criminality, or violence offers a broad spectrum of approaches in criminology and sociology. Mostly the theories focus on specific levels of explanation like the macrolevel (for example, strain theories) or the microlevel (for example, self-control theory).This article presents a relatively new theoretical approach combining different levels and focusing on three dimensions associated with specific kinds of recognition: social-structural, institutional, and socioemotional. The social-structural dimension refers to access to the functional systems of society and the accompanying recognition of position, status, and so on. The institutional dimension concentrates on the opportunity to participate in public affairs with the aim of getting moral recognition. The socioemotional dimension emphasizes the quantity and quality of integration in and social support from families, friends, partners, and so on, which provide emotional recognition.The underlying idea is that lack of access, participation, and belonging causes a lack of recognition. When this happens, social and individual problems increase. Thus, deviant and violent behavior can be seen as one potential reaction to a lack of recognition and as a way to gain status and recognition in a different manner (for example, with a delinquent peer group or other gang).

School Shootings: Conceptual Framework and International Empirical Trends

An exploration of the phenomenology and global prevalence of school shootings, also serving as an introduction outlining the conceptual framework of the volume. The central approaches and terminology of school rampage research are introduced. An empirical survey of global prevalence reveals international trends and fundamental characteristics of perpetrators and attacks. The findings show that school shootings are a historically growing phenomenon occurring predominantly in modern Western societies, committed overwhelmingly by male adolescents at secondary schools. The chapter concludes with an overview of the contributions in the volume outlining the specific perspectives of each author.

School Shooting: A Double Loss of Control

A critical discussion of the controllability of school shootings on the basis of the thesis of double loss of control, composed of elements of social disintegration theory (SDT), youth theory, and control theory. Using the research findings to date, it is shown that school shootings are largely caused by negative recognition balances in the spheres of socialization of family, school, and peer group, and thus by the perpetrator’s loss of control over his own life. On the other side, society sees itself confronted with the impossibility of systematically controlling a violent phenomenon of this kind, because the interaction of incident-generating processes is largely hidden from view and is genuinely rooted in structural causes. The primary public response involving ritualized explanations and repressive strategies may generate a welcome illusion of control, but turns a blind eye to the devastating counterproductive consequences.

Right-Wing Extremist Violence

Over the last few decades, rapid and far-reaching processes of social modernization, the redefining of the structures of nation states, and powerful thrusts toward globalization among Western societies have provided the background to a highly diverse, variable, and self-contradictory increase in right-wing extremism and the violence associated with it.

Gewalt. Zu den Schwierigkeiten einer systematischen internationalen Bestandsaufnahme

Anspruchsvolle wissenschaftliche Analysen bewahren sich in der Regel dann, wenn sie Probleme prazise definieren, klare Deskriptionen vornehmen, elaborierte Erklarungen anbieten, uberzeugende Bewertungen formulieren und deren nachhaltige Bewaltigung stimulieren. Dies alles muss in einer reflexiven Weise geschehen, die einerseits methodisierte Zweifel zulasst, andererseits kritische Distanz zu ihrem Gegenstand wahrt. Daraus ergeben sich sowohl Anforderungen als auch Erwartungen an ein internationales Handbuch der Gewaltforschung. Fur ein solches Handbuch, das eines der schillerndsten und zugleich schwierigsten sozialen Phanomene zu seinem Gegenstand hat, muss zunachst die Frage nach moglichen Formen, Typen und den Charakteristika von Gewalt gestellt werden. Dabei ist eine differenzierte Berucksichtigung der vielfaltigen Phanomene von der individuellen Tat bis zum kollektiven oder staatlichen Agieren erforderlich. Erklarungen fur Gewalt sind in ganz unterschiedlichen Fachdisziplinen zu finden, so dass sie in ihrer Bandbreite von psychologischen bis hin zu sozialstrukturellen Ansatzen zu berucksichtigen sind. Die zur Anwendung kommenden Standards und normativen Grundlagen von Bewertungen sind jeweils offenzulegen. Letztlich sollen differenzierte Wege der Bewaltigung von Gewalt von der individuellen Therapie bis zu gesellschaftlichen Strukturveranderungen sichtbar werden. Ein Handbuch der Gewaltforschung herauszugeben, stellt mithin allein aus diesen Grunden ein gewisses Wagnis dar.

Social Disintegration, Loss of Control, and School Shootings

A critical discussion of the controllability of school shootings on the basis of the thesis of double loss of control, composed of elements of social disintegration theory, youth theory, and control theory. Using the research findings to date, it is shown that school shootings are largely caused by negative recognition balances in the spheres of socialization of family, school, and peer group, and thus by the perpetrator’s loss of control over his own life. On the other side, society sees itself confronted with the impossibility of systematically controlling a violent phenomenon of this kind, because the interaction of incident-generating processes is largely hidden from view and is genuinely rooted in structural causes. The primary public response involving ritualized explanations and repressive strategies may generate a welcome illusion of control, but turns a blind eye to the devastating counterproductive consequences.

Violence: The Difficulties of a Systematic International Review

Ambitious academic studies generally serve their purpose when they provide accurate definitions of problems, clear descriptions, considered explanations, as well as convincing assessments, and encourage long-term work in the field. The whole process must be a reflexive one, allowing room for expressions of doubt and maintaining a critical detachment from the subject. This means that an international manual of violence research has to meet certain standards and fulfill certain expectations. The first question to be answered by a manual of this kind, dealing with one of the most enigmatic and, at the same time, most serious social phenomena, concerns the possible forms, types, and characteristics of violence. In answering that question, the manual must carefully distinguish between the many different phenomena, ranging from the individual act to the organized actions of groups or states. Explanations of violence are to be found in quite different academic disciplines and therefore have to be considered across the spectrum from psychological to sociostructural approaches. The standards applied and the normative foundations of assessments need to be clearly stated in each case. Finally, the study must highlight differentiated ways of dealing with violence, from individual therapy to changes in the structure of society. Even taken alone, these reasons are enough to make publishing a manual of violence research a rather audacious venture.