Warriors and Peacemakers
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Warriors and Peacemakers by Mark Cooney
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.
"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 *
"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.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780814715673 |
| ISBN 10 | 0814715672 |
| Title | Warriors and Peacemakers |
| Author | Mark Cooney |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | New York University Press |
| Year published | 1998-04-01 |
| Number of pages | 222 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |