Crime, violence, and coercive power

ABSTRACT

Social scientists regularly differentiate sharply between crime and political violence. They often argue that unlike the political forms of violence such as wars, terrorism, or revolutions the criminal acts of violence lack clearly defined ideological aims. In this short contribution, I reflect on the special issue articles which all successfully challenge this dichotomy. Furthermore, I expand on these arguments to emphasize the centrality of coercive power in the development and legitimation of social orders throughout history.

KEYWORDS:

• Crime
• violence
• coercion
• coercive power
• war

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Siniša Malešević

Siniša Malešević is a Full Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University College, Dublin, and Senior Fellow at CNAM. His recent books include Why Humans Fight (Cambridge UP, 2022), Contemporary Sociological Theory (with S. Loyal, Sage 2021), and Grounded Nationalisms (Cambridge UP, 2019). His publications have been translated into 14 languages.