The Psychology Of Genocide And Violent Oppression

The twentieth century was one of the most violent in all of human history, with more than 100 million people killed in acts of war and persecution ranging from the Herero and Namaqua genocide in present-day Namibia during the early 1900s to the ongoing conflict in Darfur. This book explores the root causes of genocide, looking into the underlying psychology of violence and oppression. Genocide does not simply occur at the hands of tyrannical despots, but rather at the hands of ordinary citizens whose unresolved pain and oppression forces them to follow a leader whose demagogy best expresses their own long-developed prejudices and fears. The book explains how birth trauma, childhood trauma, and authoritarian education can be seen as the true causes of genocidal periods in recent history.

Chronicling horrific events that brought the 20th century to witness the largest number of systematic slaughters of human beings in any century across history, this work goes beyond historic details and examines contemporary psychological means that leaders use to convince individuals to commit horrific acts in the name of a politial or military cause. Massacres in Nanking, Rwanda, El Salvador, Vietnam, and other countries are reviewed in chilling detail. But the core issue is what psychological forces are behind large- scale killing; what psychology can be used to indoctrinate normal people with a Groupthink that moves individuals to mass murder brutally and without regret, even when the victims are innocent children. Dutton shows us how individuals are convinced to commit such sadistic acts, often preceded by torture, after being indoctrinated with beliefs that the target victims are unjust, inhuman or viral, like a virus that must be destroyed or it will destroy society.

In the last two decades, the field of comparative genocide studies has produced an increasingly rich literature on the targeting of various groups for extermination and other atrocities, throughout history and around the contemporary world. However, the phenomenon of "genocides by the oppressed," that is, retributive genocidal actions carried out by subaltern actors, has received almost no attention. The prominence in such genocides of non-state actors, combined with the perceived moral ambiguities of retributive genocide that arise in analyzing genocidal acts "from below," have so far eluded serious investigation. Genocides by the Oppressed addresses this oversight, opening the subject of subaltern genocide for exploration by scholars of genocide, ethnic conflict, and human rights. Focusing on case studies of such genocide, the contributors explore its sociological, anthropological, psychological, symbolic, and normative dimensions.

How can human beings kill or brutalise multitudes of other human beings? Focusing particularly on genocide, Erwin Staub explores the psychology of group aggression. He sketches a conceptual framework for the many influences on one group's desire to harm another and within this framework, considers four historical examples of genocide.

When and why do groups target each other for extermination? How do seemingly normal people become participants in genocide? In these essays, social psychologists use the principles derived from contemporary research in their field to try to shed light on the behaviour of perpetrators of genocide.

A Violent History of Benevolence traces how normative histories of liberalism, progress, and social work enact and obscure systemic violences. Chris Chapman and A.J. Withers explore how normative social work history is structured in such a way that contemporary social workers can know many details about social work's violences, without ever imagining that they may also be complicit in these violences. Framings of social work history actively create present-day political and ethical irresponsibility, even among those who imagine themselves to be anti-oppressive, liberal, or radical. The authors document many histories usually left out of social work discourse, including communities of Black social workers (who, among other things, never removed children from their homes involuntarily), the role of early social workers in advancing eugenics and mass confinement, and the resonant emergence of colonial education, psychiatry, and the penitentiary in the same decade. Ultimately, A Violent History of Benevolence aims to invite contemporary social workers and others to reflect on the complex nature of contemporary social work, and specifically on the present-day structural violences that social work enacts in the name of benevolence.

Recipient of the 2019 Most Promising New Textbook Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) Watch the short video below for a tour of Thomas Heinzen and Wind Goodfriend’s Social Psychology, including its features, tools, and resources. Invite your students to discover social psychology’s relevance to their lives with Social Psychology, a new introduction to the field from award-winning teacher-researchers Thomas Heinzen and Wind Goodfriend. The authors present social psychology as an evolving, science-driven conversation. Every chapter builds on core questions central to scientific inquiry, while a methods-in-context approach cultivates psychological literacy. Heinzen and Goodfriend capture student attention by weaving stories drawn from their own personal experiences with compelling examples from everyday life, all carefully placed in historical context. Because understanding application is key, the book concludes with eight mini chapters on topics including behavioral economics, environmental sustainability, law and the courtroom, positive psychology, and more. Students will become active participants in the social psychology dialogue, finding their fascination with the field and realizing its significance in their daily lives and future careers. INSTRUCTORS: Social Psychology is accompanied by a complete teaching and learning package! Contact your rep to request a demo, answer your questions, and find the perfect combination of tools and resources below to fit your unique course needs. SAGE Premium Video SAGE Premium Video in the Interactive eBook includes Ask the Expert interviews with commentary by the authors, as well as Social Psychology in Action animations. Learn more. Interactive eBook Your students save when you bundle the print version with the Interactive eBook (Bundle ISBN: 978-1-5443-3031-0), which includes access to SAGE Premium Video and other multimedia tools. Learn more. SAGE coursepacks SAGE coursepacks makes it easy to import our quality instructor and student resource content into your school’s learning management system (LMS). Intuitive and simple to use, SAGE coursepacks allows you to customize course content to meet your students’ needs. Learn more. SAGE edge This companion website offers you and students a robust online environment with an impressive array of teaching and learning resources. Learn more. Case Studies Also written by Heinzen and Goodfriend, Case Studies in Social Psychology presents brief, entertaining case stories to illustrate the historical context and evolution of major theories within the field of social psychology. Bundle it with the core text for only $5 more! Learn more.

What fuels the cruelty of humankind, which has oppressed and exploited enemies and fellow countrymen alike since the beginning of recorded history? Why are the oppressed victims, without power and rights, most notably women? Have the countless historically warranted violent acts left us as unimpaired as patriarchs and militants want us to believe, or are they rather the source of increasing mental issues?40 years ago, while working as a young psychologist in child psychiatry, the author was puzzled by the misery of many children and their families, even though they often did not have a lack of material goods. 25 years ago he discovered that mental disorders can be traced back to the second world war and other traumas originating in violence. He has since discovered similar violent traumas worldwide and in all eras of time. This discovery may sound incredible given the historical misrepresentation perpetuated by historiography and the sciences, a practice which has been perfected and enforced by the Catholic church since the Constantinian shift (313 AD). The widespread preoccupation with national socialism nowadays is a good thing. Still, it is not a singular operational accident caused by a lunatic, as portrayed by the mainstream. Genocide has been the foundation of power for the patriarchal warrior caste since the Indo-Europeans first developed superior military technology by domesticating the horse 6000 years ago. Past genocides perpetrated by the militant patriarchy follow us like a perpetual boomerang. The extenuation of violence of the powerful leads to confusion, suffering, anguish, and anger. Inclusion of women and their wisdom of life is the essential step towards a happier world.