This article delves into the complexities of political violence through the lens of various political ideologies, historical events, and global dynamics. It explores the concept of perspectivism, emphasizing the role of personal opinions and experiences in shaping individual and group ideals. Additionally, the article discusses the theory of capitalism, focusing on how it has historically led to social divisions and political uprisings. It also delves into the concept of political socialization, highlighting how the transmission of political values can sometimes contribute to violence when generations inherit deeply rooted beliefs. The discussion extends to the notion of hegemony, both in the context of capitalist control over the working class and modern international power dynamics. The role of international organizations, particularly the United Nations, in addressing and preventing political violence is also explored. Furthermore, the article provides insights into the Cold War and the post-Cold War era, revealing how political, economic, and ethnic factors have influenced conflicts and wars in the contemporary world. The analysis encompasses the impact on communities, state failures, ethnic wars, and the shift from conventional warfare to intra-state conflicts. In conclusion, this article aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of the diverse factors contributing to political violence in our complex global landscape.
Perspectivism
By perspectivism one can understand the meaning that every individual or a group or
community rests its ideals on the basis of a perspective. This suggests that such perspectives
are based on one’s own personal opinion based on everyone’s life experiences, which cannot
be taken as factual representation or universal truths. Similarly, the notions that terrorists
carry are simply based on personal opinions and perspectives that hold no value of being
universal truth or facts (O' Donnell, K., 2003).
Capitalism
Capitalism is of the most prominent theories of social science that has given rise to political
violence at different points of time. The theory of Capitalism was given by Karl Marx who
suggested that society is divided into two groups of Capitalists and Working class. Capitalists
are the owners of production and their main motive is maximization of profit. In this manner
various exploitations have been carried out on the working class that gave to uprisings and
revolts in different cases. One of the most famous exploitation example is the theory of
surplus value (Braynion, P., 2004).
Political Socialization
Political socialization refers to the transmission of political values and opinions from one
generation to other. It is a learning system wherein young adults and children form political
ideologies through political attitudes and behaviour. This kind of socialization can take form
of political violence because without knowing facts or understanding the opinions from a
different view, the new generations also believed on what they have been taught. It also
continuous with generations of war and common beliefs such as in the case of Palestine and
Israel war that began 19th century onwards (Braynion, P., 2004).
Hegemony
Hegemony can be defined as the political, economic or military dominance of one state over
the other. In various instances hegemony also means that a power influences others without
armed forces or wars or invasion simply by threat and indirect power. Historically, Karl Marx
pointed out that capitalists practice hegemony over the working class. Whereas in present
situation many scholars opine that the United States is a hegemon and what they practice is
hegemonic governance through their leadership and intervention in affairs of different nations
(Wikan, U., 1987).
United Nations
The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 as an intergovernmental
organization to promote international peace and co- operation. The United Nations was
created by replacing the League of Nations that was ineffective as it could not stop the
Second World War. In order to end the violence and prevent another world war in future, the
United Nations was established. Therefore, when it comes to political violence the United
Nations interferes and makes proper amendments (Enuka, C., 2012).
The Cold War and Post Cold War Era
The Cold War Era took place between 1947 and 1991 that witnessed tension between two
super powers particularly, the USSR and the US. This war took place after the end of World
War II wherein there were no large scale wars and fights between the super powers. Further,
these super powers had two sides called the Western Bloc that consisted of United Sates and
its allies with NATO and others and the Eastern Bloc that included Soviet Union with allies
in Warsaw Pact. The Cold War was a result of the end of Second World War wherein the US
and USSR were two super powers with huge political and economic differences. On one hand
USSR followed Marxist- Leninist single party led state having power to govern communities
with a controlled press (Yilmaz, M., 2007). On the other hand US had a capitalist state that
granted freedom of expression with free press and elections. After the ultimate collapse of
USSR there were several differences in international relations as Russia immediately changed
its economic structure that left millions of people unemployed moreover, United States and
Germany witnessed recession that was greater than the great depression (Braynion, P., 2004).
US was the ultimate super power left with continued peace in its military industrial complex
that was seen after several years. People in many countries lost their lives during this cold
war, majorly in the Southeast Asia. Further, many other wars took place after this time such
as revolutionary wars, ethnic wars, interstate wars that also led to the emergence of refugees
and displaced people (O' Donnell, K., 2003). Finally on one hand Eastern and Central Europe
witnessed economic growth and on the other hand, places like Afghanistan experienced state
failures. It is also important to note that against the predictions that post cold war era would
not see wars, what has struck the world is a series of intra- state manifestation. In accordance
with the theory of ethnic conflict we see today ethnic and nationalist violence (Yilmaz, M.,
2007). With the rise of multi- ethnic societies, the world after cold war era has shifted to two
or more sovereign communities fighting with each other instead of the conventional warfare.
Several scholars pointed that post cold wars, what we would witness is tribalism,
overpopulation, civilization clashes and resource scarcity. The ongoing South Sudanese Civil
War is an example of ethnic war (Enuka, C., 2012).