"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"
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 hasculled a vast
array of evidence from modern and preindustrial societies to
provide us with the first general sociological analysis of human
violence.
General
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