PSC 211 Chapter 5 Political Violence

Political Violence

Violence outside of state control that is politically motivated.

Contentious Politics

Collective political struggle that includes revolutions, civil wars, riots, strikes, and peaceful protest movements.

Institutional Explanations

Factors that focus on how state, economic, or social systems contribute to political violence.

Ideational Explanations

Factors that focus on the impact of political or religious ideas in causing political violence.

Individual Explanations

Factors that look at personal motivations for engaging in political violence, whether rational or psychological.

Revolution

A public seizure of the state to overturn the existing government and regime, often involving public participation.

Relative Deprivation Model

A psychological approach arguing that revolution occurs when there is a gap between public expectations and actual conditions.

Terrorism

The use of violence by nonstate actors against civilians to achieve a political goal.

State-Sponsored Terrorism

When a state directly supports terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy.

Guerrilla War

Violence by nonstate actors targeting the state, usually following traditional rules of war.

Nihilism

The belief that all values and institutions are meaningless, leading to the justification of violence to create a new order.

Cosmic War

The belief that modern states seek to exterminate believers, leading to violence as a response.

Surveillance State

A state that increases security measures, potentially eroding civil rights and democratic freedoms.