Narratives of Violence

Book excerpt: This title was first published in 2001. The modern state’s claim to a monopoly of legitimate force bestows the concomitant duty of preventing the resort to violence by non-state actors. Consequently, failure to do so often leads to debates, concerning the legitimation of the perpetrators themselves and the legitimation of the authorities who were unable or unwilling to prevent their violent actions. Narratives of Violence constitutes the first work which relates these stigma contests to each other by analyzing the public discourse about right-wing violence in Israel. The result is an absorbing book which provides a fundamental re-evaluation of the causes and consequences of political violence and its societal boundaries. Its conclusions will have a resounding impact on the Israeli body politic and for democratic governments around the world.