ABSTRACT
As the world moves toward the twenty-first century, striking types of social antagonism and violence, often genocidal in proportion, persist. Despite significant worldwide economic and technological development, as well as the intervention of international bodies such as the United Nations, situations such as those in Bosnia, Burundi, Haiti, Rwanda, Iraq, Iran, the Congo, and the former Soviet Union display troubling levels of intergroup hatred, violence, and destruction, challenging any optimistic notions of modern progress. Continuing massacres in Kosovo further illustrate the urgent need to deal with the destructive consequences of ethnic conflict, despite its complex nature, particularly in the international context. Recent bombings in the United States, including those at the Oklahoma City Federal Building, abortion clinics, and the Olympic Games, indicate the potential for serious violence in western democracies as well, highlighting the need to understand “cultures of violence” in greater depth. The recently negotiated peace in Northern Ireland has likewise revealed its fragility, as evident in continuing bombing incidents. Finally, violence at every level of society, interpersonal, family, group, and international has recently increased markedly in visibility. Regardless of global patterns of economic development, democratization, and third party negotiation, high levels of destructive hostility continue to flourish, apparently unabated.
