This groundbreaking volume explores the concept of self-censorship as it
relates to individuals and societies and functions as a barrier to
peace. Defining self-censorship as the act of intentionally and
voluntarily withholding information from others in the absence of formal
obstacles, the volumes introduces self-censorship as one of the
socio-psychological mechanisms that prevent the free flow of information
and thus obstruct proper functioning of democratic societies. Moreover
it analyzes this socio-psychological phenomenon specifically in the
context of intractable conflict, providing much evidence from the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Moving from the micro to the macro level, the collected chapters put the
individual as the focal unit of psychological analysis while embedding
the individual in multiple levels of context including families,
organizations, and societies. Following a firm conceptual explanation of
self-censorship, a selection of both emerging and prominent scholars
describe the ways in which self-censorship factors into families,
organizations, education, academia, and other settings. Further chapters
discuss self-censorship in military contexts, narratives of political
violence, and the media. Finally, the volume concludes by looking at the
ways in which harmful self-censorship in societies can be overcome, and
explores the future of self-censorship research. In doing so, this
volume solidifies self-censorship as an important phenomenon of social
behavior with major individual and collective consequences, while
stimulating exciting and significant new research possibilities in the
social and behavioral sciences. Conceptually carving out a new area in
peace psychology, Self Censorship in Contexts of Peace and Conflict will
appeal to psychologists, sociologists, peace researchers, political
scientists, practitioners, and all those with a wish to understand the
personal and societal functioning of individuals in the real world.
