1st Edition

Democracy and Violence Global Debates and Local Challenges

Edited By John Schwarzmantel, Hendrik Kraetzschmar Copyright 2012
    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    Illustrated most dramatically by the events of 9/11 and the subsequent ‘war on terror’, violence represents a challenge to democratic politics and to the establishment of liberal-democratic regimes. Liberal-democracies have themselves not hesitated to use violence and restrict civil liberties as a response to such challenges. These issues are at the centre of global politics and figure prominently in political debates today concerning multiculturalism, political exclusion and the politics of gender.

    This book takes up these topics with reference to a wide range of case-studies, covering Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. It provides a theoretical framework clarifying the relationship between democracy and violence and presents original research surveying current hot-spots of violent conflict and the ways in which violence affects the prospects for democratic politics and for gender equality. Based on field-work carried out by specialists in the areas covered, this volume will be of high interest to students of democratic politics and to all those concerned with ways in which the recourse to violence could be reduced in a global context. This book has significant implications for policy-makers involved in attempts to develop safer and more peaceful ways of handling political and social conflict.

    This book was published as a special issue of Democratizations.

    1. Democracy and Violence: A Theoretical Overview John Schwarzmantel  2. Liberal Democratic Politics as a Form of Violence Maureen Ramsay  3. A Contest to Democracy? How the UK has Responded to the Current Terrorist Threat Raffaello Pantucci  4. Hearts and Minds and Votes: The Role of Democratic Participation in Countering Terrorism Rachel Briggs  5. Perverse State Formation and Securitized Democracy in Latin America Jenny Pearce  6. Revisiting ‘Democracy in the Country and at Home’ in Peru Jelke Boesten  7. Bullets over Ballots: Islamist Groups, the State and Electoral Violence in Egypt and Morocco Hendrik Kraetzschmar and Francesco Cavatorta  8. Reframing Resistance and Democracy: Narratives from Hamas and Hizbullah Larbi Sadiki  9. Electoral Violence and Democracy in Kenya Gabrielle Lynch  10. Regime Type, Conflict Management and Domestic Violent Conflict in Southeast Asia Aurel Croissant and Christoph Trinn

    Biography

    John Schwarzmantel is Senior Lecturer in Politics and Director of the Centre for Democratisation Studies at the University of Leeds. His research interests are in the field of political ideologies and democratic theory.

    Hendrik Jan Kraetzschmar is Lecturer in Middle East politics at the University of Leeds. His current research focuses on the nature of electoral and party politics in the Middle East and North Africa.