Transcript Chapter 15 Violence, War, and Terrorism This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law.

Chapter 15
Violence, War,
and Terrorism
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protected under copyright law. The following
are prohibited by law:
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Myth or Fact?
►
Most research concludes
that young people who
watch violent television
shows or movies are more
likely to behave aggressively
or violently themselves.
FACT
►
The United States is a
peaceful nation that
has been in the
forefront of efforts to
stop wars around the
world.
MYTH
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Violence
Violence is behavior that is
intended to bring pain or
physical injury to another
person or to harm or destroy
property
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Violence
Collective violence is organized
violence by relatively large groups
of people to promote or resist
some social policies or practices
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The Extent of Violence
Terrorism
WMD
War
Political Violence
Civil
Disorders
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Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Explanations of Collective
Violence and War
► Biological
approaches
 stem from sociobiology, a field based on the
idea that the genetic make-up of human
beings plays a powerful role in shaping
human social behavior
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Social Sources of Collective
Violence and War
► Structural
preconditions include:
 the existence of some social strain or social
deprivation
 competition between people over money, jobs,
territory and other scarce valued resources
 ethnocentrism or the tendency to view one’s
own culture as superior to another culture
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Social Sources of Collective
Violence and War
► In
specific insurrections or wars these
preconditions have appeared in numerous
specific forms






Religious conflicts
Racial and ethnic conflicts
Conflicts over scarce land or natural resources
Conflicts over beliefs and ideologies
Protection against attack or invasion
Protection of national pride
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Social Sources of Collective
Violence and War
► These
preconditions are translated into
violence through:
 frustration
►an
inability to achieve sought-after goals
 relative deprivation
►people
tend to feel deprived or frustrated in
comparison to what others have or what they believe
they deserve
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Mediating Factors
► The
likelihood that the preconditions and
frustration will lead to violence is influenced
by some mediating factors, such as
 learning in a particular culture or subculture to
view violence as an acceptable way of dealing
with problems
 portraying violence in the mass media in a
positive way
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Theoretical Perspectives on
Collective Violence and War
► Functionalism
 Violence arises from social disorganization in that
when people are frustrated in achieving their
goals, it means that the parts of the system are
not well organized.
► Conflict
theory
 Violence is a tool that any group might use to
protect or enhance its own interests.
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Constructing War:
The Role of the Media and the
Internet
► Interactionism
 The interactionist perspective stresses how
people’s definitions of situations serve as
mechanisms of social control, shaping their
thoughts, desires and behaviors.
 The media and the Internet shape people’s
perceptions and definitions of war and military
solutions to problems.
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The Consequences of
War and Terrorism
Death,
Injury,
Social
Dislocation
Political
Turmoil
Nuclear
Devastation
Economic
Problems
Crime
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Future Prospects
► Social
reform is essential to controlling violence but
is not easy to accomplish and is controversial.
► Gun control
 Research as to whether measures, such as prohibiting
some individuals from owning guns or requiring the
registration of guns, can reduce violence has generally
shown either a very modest impact or no impact at all.
► Media
control
 Pressure to establish controls over the portrayal of
violence in the media has been generally resisted by the
media.
 Reasons for such resistance include the popularity and
profitability of such media as well as concerns about first
amendment rights.
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Future Prospects
► Major
approaches to preventing war are
 maintaining a balance of power
 developing treaties for arms control and
disarmament
 controlling the proliferation of weapons
 establishing a world government that would be
able to stop nations from going to war
 promoting peace through collective action
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Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Future Prospects
► Fighting
terrorism
 Negotiate a political settlement with terrorists
 Direct police, intelligence, and surveillance
activities at terrorist groups
 Use military action against terrorist groups
 Enact social reforms that address legitimate
grievances of the terrorist groups
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