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This book examines and interprets a wide range of approaches to the causes of violence and conflict. The causes of violence and conflict are often left untheorized, or they are discussed as an existent problem assumed to be an inevitable part of human interaction. Adopting an accessible approach, this volume presents readers with a clear understanding of the causes of violence and conflict by highlighting their evolutionary roots and illustrating them with in-depth case studies and examples. Tim Jacoby addresses the fragmented nature of the literature on conflict theory by dra.

Hidden away at the end of Edward Said's seminal text, Orientalism, is a brief summary of his main arguments. Consisting of what he calls 'four principal dogmas', these establish the binary differences between East and West that make up the substantive bulk of his focus – namely us versus them, modernity versus atavism, subject versus object and humanity versus barbarity. This paper uses each as a vantage point from which to analyse and problematise established narratives on the relationship between Islam and political violence. Bringing together a wide-ranging field of scholarship and commentary, it aims to move beyond critique and towards a more sustained, and challenging, focus on the conceptual and empirical flaws that underpin the Occidental half of these apparently settled distinctions.

AbstractSince the emergence of the Islamic State, considerable debate has arisen over the relationship (or lack of therein) between its ideological discourse and broader Islamic exegeses and learning. This paper aims to connect these wider discussions to its self-defined ideological standpoint as set out in its magazine,Dabiq. All 15 of these, published between June 2014 and July 2016, amounting to more than 900 pages, are examined to assess their authors' (1) analysis of the Qur'an (2) use of classical scholarship, and (3) engagement with contemporary readings of Islam.

This article considers four aspects for understanding the greatly over-used term 'fascism': its place in space and also in time, the basis of its social support, and its modus operandi. While agreement exists on where and when fascism reached its apogee, there is little concurrence of opinion over the extent to which the world wars were determinative in its birth and death, and how far beyond European boundaries it has ventured. There are also wide-ranging discussions concerning the identity and extent of its backers, with some writers pointing to the formative role of the lumpen body politic, or various class fractions, and others to that of an elite vanguard, or even individual alienation. A similar spectrum of opinion over the basis of fascism's appeal extends from studies emphasizing, and elucidating, its ideational content to those that focus on the pragmatic value of action. Such a great diversity of analyses brings both considerable empirical richness and the challenge of fragmentation. This article responds by reflecting on fascism as both a social phenomenon and a field of study, in the hope of bringing some analytical structure to what remains a vast, and continuously developing, literature.

"Turkey's Ergenekon investigation is the largest and most extensive legal process in the history of the republic. It is also one of the most divisive. For many people, it represents an historic moment to rid the country of the armed forces' retrogressive political influence. For others, though, it is part of the government's attempt to extend its control of the judiciary, the media and intelligence services. The stakes are high. Both the proponents of the inquiry and its opponents claim that the very future of democracy is imperilled. Having set out the background to the case and highlighted its main features, this paper reviews the Turkish's public's response in what is an increasingly polarised debate." (author's abstract)