POLITICAL VIOLENCE
TeamDinesh kumarSneha GhoshMohit VaishnavNikita BansalDantu Neeraj
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Political violence
A common means used by People and
Governments around the world to achieve Political Goals.
“organized violent activity for political goals.”-UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR)
POLITICAL VIOLENCEDEFINITION
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Claim :
“The right to use force “– in the name of:
Survival, self-defence
Order
Justice
Freedom
Possession of resources (land, water, people, etc.)?
Access to markets?
POLITICAL VIOLENCEDEFINITION
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Many groups and individuals believe that their political systems will never
respond to their political demands.
As a result, they believe that violence is not only justified but also
necessary in order to achieve their political objectives.
Many governments around the world believe they need to use violence in
order to intimidate their populace into acquiescence.
POLITICAL VIOLENCEIntroducing…
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Governments use force in order
to defend their country from outside invasion or other threats of force,
and
to coerce other governments or conquer territory.
Non-action on the part of the government can also be characterized as a
form of political violence.
POLITICAL VIOLENCEIntroducing…
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WAR Guerilla War
Human Rights ViolationWar Crimes
(International)Terrorism
State
Non-state
Civ
ilia
ns
Sta
te
POLITICAL VIOLENCEPictorial View
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Genocide is commonly defined as the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group"
The Holocaust is the historical example of genocide. It was the mass murder of approximately 6 million Jews during World War II by the Germans.
POLITICAL VIOLENCEIts Form: Genocide
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Human Rights Violation
Occur when actions by state (or non-state) actors abuse, ignore, or deny basic human rights (including civil, political, cultural, social, and economic rights).
Occur when any state or non-state actor breaches any part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
POLITICAL VIOLENCEPOLITICAL VIOLENCEIts Form: Human Right Violation
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POLITICAL VIOLENCEIts Form: War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality.
War is an intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities, and therefore is defined as a form of political violence
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POLITICAL VIOLENCEIts Form: War
World War II (1939-45)
Death toll of, estimated at 60 million plus, by far the deadliest.
Marked by the use of nuclear weapons in warfare.
It is estimated that 378,000 people died due to war each year between 1985 and 1994.
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POLITICAL VIOLENCEIts Form: Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain (whether physical or psychological) as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or confession, or simply as an act of cruelty.
Torture cases continue to arise such as the 2004 Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse committed by military police personnel of the United States Army. The acts of sodomy and homicide were committed in the prisons.
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POLITICAL VIOLENCEIts Form: Torture
Lynndie England holding a leash attached to a prisoner
Prisoner at the U.S.’ Abu Ghraib concentration camp is being subjected to
sleep deprivation torture
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POLITICAL VIOLENCEIts Form: Police Brutality
Police Brutality is a civil rights violation that occurs when a police officer acts with excessive force by using an amount of force with regards to a civilian that is more than necessary.
Police brutality and the use of excessive force are present throughout the world and in the United States alone, 4,861 incidences of police misconduct were reported during 2010
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POLITICAL VIOLENCEIts Form : Brutality by Armed Forces
Armed Forces are frequently accused of civilian casualties ( civilian or non-combatant persons killed, injured, or imprisoned)
Persistent complaints about raiding, checking, molestation and harassment of civilians by the army personnel.
“More than 500 members of India's armed forces are accused of human rights abuses”
-BBC News India (6 December 2012)
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POLITICAL VIOLENCEIn Nutshell
Political violence has significant short and long term effects on the society in terms of
physical and psychological trauma, financial losses, migration of families, and further division of society into identifiable communities which may prolong the conflict.
Case Study 1: Gujarat Violence
Took place on 27 February 2002 Series of incidents starting with the Godhra train
burning and the subsequent communal violence between Hindus and Muslims
Sabarmati Express train was attacked at Godhra by a Muslim mob
790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were ultimately killed and 223 more people were reported missing. 536 places of worship were damaged: 273 dargahs, 241 mosques, 19 temples, and 3 churches.
Gujarat Violence
58 Hindus including 25 women and 15 children, Hindu pilgrims (Kar Sevaks) returning by the Sabarmathi express train from Ayodhya were burnt alive in a railway coach by a large Muslim mob.
The forensic report has contradicted the police version of Godhra incident.
"The inspection of the tracks and burn patterns on the exterior of the coach confirm that the
inflammable liquid did not come from outside,"
Godhra train burning
The report was compiled by a government forensic laboratory and was prepared by forensic experts who re-enacted the attack
In their re-enaction using water, the experts found that only 10 to 15 per cent of the liquid thrown from outside a coach went inside while the rest spilled onto the tracks
“How did the Modi government handle the riots?”
Fairly and effectively - 61%
In a parpartisan manner - 21%
Incompetently - 15%
“WHAT CAUSED THE MARCH RIOTS?” Godhra incident- 64 % Muslim extremists- 18 % State sponsored riots – 7 % Miscreants on both sides -7 % Hindu extremist groups – 3 %
Godhra incident-
64 %
Muslim ex-tremists- 18 %
State spon-sored riots – 7
%
Miscreants on both sides -7
%
Hindu extremist groups – 3 %
CASE STUDY 2: ARAB UPRISING
ARAB UPRISING
The Arab Spring is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations, protests, and civil wars occurring in the Arab world that began on 18 December 2010.
Many Arab Spring demonstrations have been met with violent responses from authorities, as well as from pro-government militias and counter-demonstrators. These attacks have been answered with violence from protestors in some cases. A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world has been Ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam ("the people want to bring down the regime").
Death(s): 88,408 – 93,421+ (International estimate, ongoing;
CAUSES
Authoritarianism Political corruption Human rights violations Inflation Kleptocracy Sectarianism Unemployment Self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi
STATUS: ONGOING
Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Aliousted, and government overthrown. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ousted, and government overthrown. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi killed after a civil war with foreign military
intervention, and government overthrown. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ousted, and hands power to a national
unity government. Syria experiences a full-scale civil war between the government and opposition
forces. Civil uprising against the government of Bahrain, despite government changes. Kuwait, Lebanon and Oman implementing government changes in response to
protests. Morocco, Jordan implementing constitutional reforms in response to protests. Ongoing protests in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Mauritania and some other countries
QUESTIONS
Is political violence ethically correct?
Bhagat singh, Rebels in syria?Holocaust, Gujarat riots?“Enhanced” Interrogation? Where do you draw the line?Should we look at alternatives?Can we answer these questions?
WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE
Genocide War crimes Communal violence Torture Punishment Nationalist movements
NORMATIVE THEORIES OF ETHICS
The Scenario Virtue Ethics (Aristotelianism)“one's actions are a mere reflection of one's
inner morality”“Focus is on being rather than doing” Fighting wars for good?? What about collateral damage?
CONTD..
Deontological ethics“morality of an action based on the action's
adherence to a rule or rules” Specifically lets talk about kantian ethics“Nothing is intrinsically good without
qualification except Goodwill”Categorical Imperative-“Actions should become
universal laws” “Treat humanity not simply as a means but
as an end in itself”
CONTD..
Act and rule Utilitarianism“Act utilitarianism maintains that an action is
right if it maximises utility; rule utilitarianism maintains that an action is right if it conforms to a rule that maximises utility”.
Opposite outcomes
ALTERNATIVES
Peace and Non-violence Gandhian way? Egypt, Syria… Successful but time-consuming. Ultimate question is the means important or
the end result? Other practices :1. Pray for miracles…may be Jesus will help
you2. Witchcraft can help too…
THANK YOU….QUESTIONS