Some whys and wherefores of blood and bullets

Violence in social movements

A question to ponder :

Why do activists use violence? Under what conditions are they most likely

to use it?

Some general points

• 1- Most social movements that regularly use violent tactics are national(ist), ethnic, and/or religious movements

– Examples: Irish Republican movement, Basque nationalist movement, U.S. White Supremacists

• 2- Most movements that include an armed flank also use (or have used) more conventional tactics of protest and persuasion

– If there is no mass participation external to the guerrilla organization then it may not constitute a movement!

A 1998 bombing in Omagh, Northern Ireland that killed about 20 people.

ETA car bombing.

(more general points)

• 3- Organizations do not constitute a movement unto themselves– i.e. the IRA is not a

movement, but it is part of one

– Not all guerrilla or “terrorist” organizations are part of a social movement

• 4- Fewer movements are using violent tactics of contention today than they were in the past– Instances of violent

ethnopolitical conflict peaked in the early 1990s

Working through more peaceful means? A Kurdish demonstration in London.

Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Types of violent contention

• “incidental” acts of violence• Episodic or sustained campaigns

of violence– riots– Sabotage, destruction of

property– extortion– Assassinations & executions– Hijackings– Bombings

• Buildings, cars, buses, planes, trains, public spaces

• Suicide bombings

– kidnapping– Guerrilla warfare

“Incidental” violence: Starbucks takes it on the chin in the “Battle of Seattle.”

Who uses violent tactics of contention?

• Peoples around the globe from many different cultures– Between 1986-1998:

• 8 violent ethnopolitical uprisings in western Europe & Latin America; 14 in postcommunist states (Europe & Asia); 30 in the Mid East, Asia, & Africa *

• Not confined to one socio-economic class

• Most common in authoritarian contexts but also used in democracies

* Source: Ted Gurr, MAR

In 1999, volunteers gathered in a parking lot in Yonkers, dressed in fatigues with the insignia of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Photo : The New York Times

What makes sustained violence a feasible tactic?

• Territorial concentration of challengers– Much more difficult for urban or dispersed

groups

• High degree of community cohesion among challengers– i.e. religious, economic, ethnic – Overcoming internal factions

• Strong Leaders

Source: Ted Gurr, Peoples Vs States: Minorities a Risk in the New Century, 2000

Domestic factors that encourage strategies of nonviolent protest:

* Democratic norms and institutions* Strong states with lots of resources

•Traditions of elite accommodation to class, religious & ethnic interests

Domestic factors that encourage strategies of rebellion:

* Authoritarian norms & institutions* Weak states with limited resources

* Elite reliance on repression to control challenges

International factors that influence likelihood (and type) of contention:

* External political & material support* Regional & global networks of kin

* “contagion” conflict among similar groups* Global doctrines of nationalism, minority rights, etc.

Socio-political action

Source: Modified from Ted R. Gurr, Peoples Vs States: Minorities at Risk in the New Century, 2000

Banners or Bullets? Who chooses which repertoires?

Factors that may encourage use of violent tactics (especially against

civilians) • Authoritarian political

system• An opening -- followed by

exclusion from the system• Indiscriminate repression• Exclusionary movement

organizations• “good/evil” framing

Source: M. Hafez