Warriors and Peacemakers: How Third Parties Shape Violence

by Mark Cooney (Editor)

Overview

Why do some conflicts escalate into violence while others dissipate harmlessly? Under what circumstances will people kill, and why?
While homicide has been viewed largely in the pathological terms of "crime" and "deviance," violence, Mark Cooney contends, is a naturally-occurring form of conflict found throughout history and across cultures under certain social conditions. Cooney has analyzed the social control of homicide within and across over 30 societies and interviewed several dozens of prisoners incarcerated for murder or manslaughter, as well as members of their families. Violence such as homicide can only be understood, he argues, by transcending the traditional focus on the social characteristics of the killer and victims, and by looking at the role played by family members, friends, neighbors, onlookers, police officers, and judges. These third parties can be a source of peace or violence, depending on how they are configured in particular cases. Violence flourishes, Cooney demonstrates, when authority is either very strong or very weak and when third-party ties are strong and boundaries between groups sharply defined.
Drawing on recent theory in the lively new sociological speciality of conflict management, Mark Cooney has culled a vast array of evidence from modern and preindustrial societies to provide us with the first general sociological analysis of human violence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814772201
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	04/01/1998
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	222
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

"Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Georgia, Mark Cooney holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Virginia and an S.J.D. from Harvard Law School.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Cooney raises fundamental issues concerning the nature of the sociological enterprise in general and of the understanding of violence and conflict within society in particular. [He] is convincing in his demonstration that any understanding of violence and conflict within society must take into account the role of third parties (e.g., relatives, friends, neighbors, strangers, or legal officials) as a force for violence or peace."

-Choice

Editorial Reviews

Argues that social relationships among adversaries and third parties are fundamental for understanding the likelihood of peaceful or violent settlements and develops a purely sociological theory of homicide that focuses on the ties of third parties, such as relatives, friends, and legal officials, to victims and offenders in killings. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

"Cooney raises fundamental issues concerning the nature of the sociological enterprise in general and of the understanding of violence and conflict within society in particular. [He] is convincing in his demonstration that any understanding of violence and conflict within society must take into account the role of third parties (e.g., relatives, friends, neighbors, strangers, or legal officials) as a force for violence or peace."

Choice

"Cooney raises fundamental issues concerning the nature of the sociological enterprise in general and of the understanding of violence and conflict within society in particular. [He] is convincing in his demonstration that any understanding of violence and conflict within society must take into account the role of third parties (e.g., relatives, friends, neighbors, strangers, or legal officials) as a force for violence or peace."

-Choice

From the Publisher