This book provides a systematic examination of the re-patterning of
collective identities through violence and the role of power politics in
such critical transitions. The authors show how identity is created
through shared social practices and how it is transformed when
collective violence disrupts common practices. Three case studies show
how this model sheds new light on the dynamics of religious violence in
parts of India, on ethnic violence in the former Yugoslavia, as well as
on anti-war protest in the UK in reaction to the military invasion of
Iraq.
The book explores an alternative way of looking at conflict, and
dissects the policies and processes that bring specific identities to
the fore, taking seriously the capacity to resist and face abusive
authority.
Identity, Violence and Power will be of interest to students and
scholars of sociology, social psychology, history, political science and
conflict studies.