Introduction
Structural violence is a fundamental concept in the analysis and understanding of international conflicts. The contents of structural violence include disputes, where comprehension between two parties does not come to a point of consensus because of differences in their social setting. The failure of distinct entities in an ecosystem to comprehend each other acts as an instrument of causing conflicts in the international scope.
The international conflicts arise from societal setting, affecting people around the world. The comprehension of the influence of structural conflict has a rationale of enhancing the analysis, as well the comprehension of the scope of the international conflict. The understanding is also vital in the creation of a path for strategic implementation of ample methodologies that would prevent or eradicate the conflicts.
A vast theoretical literature has also been presented in regards to the importance of structural violence in comprehension enhancement, with some authors arguing that conflicts have been a major drawback to economic, social, and political triumph over the years, owing to the state of misunderstanding distinct takes of different individuals and groups (Burchill, et al, 2005, p. 291).
The recent decades have seen researchers, academicians, scholars, as well as psychologists develop enthusiasm in the area of the effects of violence on the international relations. The discussion in this paper seeks to establish the usefulness of the concept of structural violence in analyzing and understanding international conflicts.
The comprehension of this is enabled by comprehensively analyzing the concept of structural violence as well as the international conflict. The theoretical approach towards the same is critically discussed, in addition to the provision of rationale and impacts of the study at hand.
Analyzing the concept of structural violence
The form of violence whose basis is on the social structure or social institution that harms some populace and prevents them from fulfilling their essential needs encompasses structural violence. Structural violence is product of the organization of political, social, and economic settings and systems in ways that have both negative and positive effects on the immediate community.
The rationale of the impacts is portrayed when some segments of the population in existence are oppressed, intimidated, and dominated, while other segments are privileged in one way or the other.
Conflicts that have their fundamentals on the societal structures deprive part of the population their peace, food, security, healthcare etc, while others still enjoy the abundance of the same in similar setting. For instance, movement of large numbers of rich people into a community may lead to the increment of housing costs, affecting people that lived originally in a similar place under low costs.
In addition, structural violence is mostly recognized at the level of a society due to life quality shortfalls that occur in certain societal groups. The accomplishment of structural violence mostly occurs via the existence of political repression in a society.
This entails the presence of many groups in power concentrating the societal resources for their personal gain in expense of people who are not in power. The most pronounced examples of structural violence are inclusive of racism, elitism, classism, sexism, adultism, ageism, and nationalism in addition to heterosexism and ethnocentrism (Lipsky, 2010, p. 31).
Structural violence is characterized by poor societal settings that allow room for existence of more than one class and clusters of individuals depending on the societal niche that they hold. An imbalanced state as well as international realm is established when structural violence takes preeminence.
This is in regards to unequal resources distribution among the existing populations. Discrimination also finds its way in such a society where some people appear more important than others do, in terms of wealth and health. The systems of structural violence are dominated by numerous justices in all realms, and unjust arguments prevail in place of justice requirement.
Oppression of high quality is experienced whenever structural violence is evident, for instance, the deprivation of widows and orphans of the inheritances by corrupt governments. Increased death rates are also associated with those that live at rung positions in any society setting as opposed to low death rates for the higher in a contemporary society with poor settings.
Most countries in the have had such structural violent systems, posing great troubles for those living in them. The rationale of these poor structural systems is experienced when considering the rate of international conflict today that has drastically increased.
The understanding of these conflicts is also important in performance of the analysis of the levels of the international conflicts that thrive today. Various pronounced effects are experienced in presence of structural violence, which is inclusive of pain infliction on the victims when war and terror etc incidents occur due to structural distinctions.
It is always in the accompaniment of the deprivation of essential needs that are fundamental to the life of an organism in the ecosystem. The freedom of human is taken away for there is no room for addressing their grievances in case of the structural problems.
Moreover, the creation of non-identity society with racial, material, and all-round differences results from the cultivation for the structural violence (Mansfield and Pollins, 2003, p. 97).
An analysis of International conflicts
The recent years have seen concerted efforts directed towards international peace relations in a bid to counter the rampant international conflicts. A conflict is regarded as a level of difficulty where parties cannot understand one another, resulting into an avoidable chaotic situation. The accomplishment of a conflict is done via stage performances whose possible outcomes are undesirable, and may not be beneficial to any party.
The international conflict describes those critical incidents in which no human entity is exempted from the effect of a particular happening, and every human race is a liable object of experience. The most flabbergasting conflicts in the worldly realms are inclusive of wars, terrorism, and political clashes among others.
The causes of the international conflicts range from human to situational causative factors that become so overwhelming to an extent of causing tremendous outcomes.
The outcomes never choose a particular path to follow; rather, they affect a large number in the international realms including fresh waters, oil, other resources and so on (Westing and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and United Nations Environment Programme., 1986, p. 10, 28 and 58).
Johan Galtung’s literature classifies conflicts into three categories, which are inclusive of direct conflicts that entail direct pain and suffering infliction on individuals or groups. The second type is indirectly imposed on a group of individuals due to poor structures in the societal set up. International conflicts are mostly caused by structural violence as a result of the instabilities and disorganizations that are caused by their rampancy.
The effects of the international conflicts are inclusive of economic inflations due to poor methodologies of spending a country’s resources. The political crises are also experienced everywhere in the international scope due to power wrangles that thrives in the hearts of many. The poor and the oppressed have a tendency to rise up against the unjust regimes and these reactions are transformed into conflicts.
Cultural conflicts are also internationally evident due to people’s take of others in regards to their background (Bercovitch, 1996, p. 6). Indeed, cultural conflicts have been known as causative factors to the structural and direct conflicts in many cases since the disregard for one another is a causal factor for promotion of jealousy, as well as the oppressive nature evident in most societies.
More over, most social structures in the world have acted as causal factors for international conflicts due to poor organizations and structural arrangements. Political and economic structures are also known to be major causes of conflicts in an international scope.
The international conflicts have often led to the prevalence of negative peace; indeed, alleviation of peace on the parties involved in disputes at a particular time is a rationale for international disagreements. The magnitude of international suffering is measured via the impacts in experience to the parties internationally.
For instance, massive deaths and concrete conflicts that are not liable for recovery are the extreme magnitudes for international conflicts. In addition, there are incidences of countries fighting against each other due to economic, structural, and cultural failures. In addition, leadership and governance structures are also considered as main causal factors of international conflicts.
Major international conflicts have long been portrayed via terrorism attacks, massacres, wars, deprivation of rights, and other methodologies that are deemed crucial in the fulfillment of such laws (Likosky, 2002, p. 393).
Usefulness of the concept of structural violence in analyzing and understanding international conflicts
Structural violence is an excellently significant tool when it comes to the analysis and understanding of international conflicts. The concept of structural violence explains the fundamentals on which international conflict emerges, as distinct groups interact with others in social setup.
The fact that structural violence entails deprivation of people’s rights and freedoms, as others enjoy privileges and honors makes this form of violence be considered vital in international violation explanations provision. Theoretical explanations of international conflicts rebuke the violation of social theory via the utilization of structural violence in available human settings.
The current world is largely affected by international conflicts that emerge repeatedly, with research findings proving that most of the happenings in the international realms are products of structural violence. This majorly entails social, cultural, political, and economical and the overall human set up within an inclusive ecological system (Ohlson and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 1988, p. 7).
The concept of structural violence is normally viewed as a hypothetical instrument that provides supposition that is considered tentative, with the intention of gaining comprehension of facts that are legally acceptable. Therefore, it creates a rationale for the understanding and analyzing international laws, as well as being considered a fiction.
This implies that structural violence entails making mistakes with a conscious mind in its take that armed conflicts are used in the deprivation of other people’s rights and privileges. Therefore, it gives an ample understanding of the operational international law, as well as a prediction of what just laws would mean in the society.
The understanding is also boosted in the fact that individuals or groups affected or infected by structural violence face it indirectly. They therefore advocate for close monitory and supervision in the promotion of the effectiveness of international law (Jacoby, 2008, p. 26).
Structural violence is a long-term cause of system’s instability. Instability means that no system can be subject to human trust, since it does not amply cater for the available humanity desired satisfaction. The instability-affected areas are inclusive of political social and economical stands. Normally, the state of instability in any realm leads to the creation of emotions on those affected or infected by the causal factors.
The deprivation of privileges from some people, as others enjoy, creates a rationale for the instability complement to act as a stage-setter for international conflicts.
Moreover, instability is an ultimate cause of physical, emotional, and psychological wars among people as well as states. The structural instability analysis also proves it as a ground for human suffering, rendering a lot of dissatisfaction among individuals involved (Jacoby, 2008).
Additionally, structural violence paves way for undesirable human aspects, which finally lead to conflicts. The aspect of militarily arises from international conflicts due to poor structural settings.
For instance, countries from European and American continents have to concentrate on weapon building strategies in a bid to counter any international attack, reason being that the structural setup of every country is a source of structural violence due to poor settings.
The understanding of the world wars that took place in the 19th century is enhanced by the presence of people superseded by hunger for power prosperity, in regards to territorial control and proprietorship. The wars created a structural environment that enabled some countries to be in possession of powerful arms and ammunitions, thus looking down upon others.
The perception that other countries are weak entities by the American continent, and eventually causing war is a rationale towards understanding international conflicts.
The recent rampant terrorist attacks that prevail in the international scope are also as a result of the presence of countries that are more favored in military wealth than others. Moreover, the desire to exercise military power, while ignoring human dignity is a long-term rationale for international conflicts (Lawler, 1995, p. 67).
The existence of extreme poverty cases in human life is an indication of the preeminence of structural violence. In most cases, some countries have a common trend that has rampantly taken preeminence. Every country is marked by an interaction of extremely rich persons, who adversely interact with extremely poor persons, though living in a similar environmental context.
Those people associated with the leadership of any country in the international realms are always found in possession of wealth, while those far from power are in most cases poor. A recent environmental scanning study concluded that poverty has become a major problem in the world.
Similarly, refugees that move to countries for the sake of their safety are said to suffer due to the fact that host countries do not easily recognize their presence. Those people afflicted with chronic diseases are said to live in chronic poverty due to lack of support from the neighbors as well as the government.
Thus, international conflicts are known to occur rampantly, as campaigns for such poverty controversies arise for the sake of protection of the common person (Waart, et al., 2001, p. 325).
Structural conflicts are known to have offered an ample ground for exploitation and oppression, as well as intimidation in every realm of the society. The understanding of these fundamentals is best explained via structural violence existence. The international conflicts have rampantly arisen due to the prevalence of the expletory and oppression nature in human realms.
Many countries have been recently faced by rampant pre and post-election violence and conflicts, owing to the existence of unfaithful regimes. The service to the general society by governments has been today converted to the attendance to personal needs since social structures are already paralyzed.
This is a causative factor for exploitation and intimidation to most people in a societal setup. The oppression and intimidation factors are known in history as the main causes of societal aggression and ultimately leading to international conflicts (Kent, 1993).
Structural violence is also useful as an instrument for indication of difficulties associated with change acquisition. For instance, recent years have experienced dramatic shifts in all reams, and every international entity needs adopting new ideas. However, the employment setup is already violated by poor governance and monitoring of the international structures, leading to aggression.
Land disputes have also been sources of international conflicts, where poor ruling structures are in control and denying room for dialog to maintain peace. The effects are peace alleviation and overriding international conflicts. Moreover, poor ruling methodologies that do not provide room for the weak and the oppressed in the society are factors that lead to the structural violence occurrence.
However, structural violence resulting form unequal resources distribution provides a better comprehension of international conflicts. The fact that wealthy and prosperous regimes are always entitled to privileges causes international aggression, leading to international conflicts (Kent, 1993).
Theoretical approach to international conflicts on the basis of structural violence
The recent decades have seen large numbers of theorists arise in their bid to provide explanations of the international conflicts on the ground of structural violence. The main theory that leads to the realization of denial of human satisfaction to some individuals or groups is the human needs theory by John Burton in 1915.
The frameworks of the theory advocate for meeting of human needs as an instrument of peaceful human interactions and relations. The conflict theory is also important in explanation provision of international conflicts. This relates to the incompatibility of distinct parties in their presentation as the main causal factor for conflicts.
The structural violation in any society leads to a negative interaction nature between the two theories, leading to conflicts between parties.
The structural violence is viewed in disregard for some people in the society, leading to the violation of the requirements of the human needs theory, and paving way for the preeminence of the conflict theory. The correction of situations thus requires the intervention of conflict resolution theoretical approach (Juma, et al., 2002, p. 134).
Kurt Lewis model of management plays a vital role in addressing the need for ample societal management strategies as a step towards combating the structural violence extremes. The social theory that was early developed is very crucial in addressing the importance of a good societal interaction.
It requires that all social entities in a setting recognize the importance of each other as an ample weapon for fighting societal conflicts. The social theory propositions entail the need for societal construction on the basis of the available entities’ requirements to create a satiable nature. The most recent research has also come up with international relations theory that advocates for compatibles in accordance to the international laws.
Compatibles are considered as vital in fighting the spirit of intimidation, oppression, as well as discriminatory societal rules. The international law is useful as a tool for stabilization of structural and physical systems via the application of the best possible ideologies. Therefore, international conflicts solution has long been developed via the requirements of international law.
The normative theory is very useful in assisting the execution of international law. It requires that appropriate norms be followed in the understanding and prevention of international conflicts caused by structural violence (McEvoy and Newburn, 2003, pp. 6, 7).
The rationale and impacts of Understanding international conflicts and Violence
The comprehension of international conflicts and violence creates a ground for the enactment of peaceful attributes. The understanding is especially essential to those in the peace and conflict studies, since a ground for positive peace is easy to establish. It is always considered worthy where prevention takes the first position instead of cure.
Whenever this understanding is available, government regimes and policy-makers gain a better understanding of the common structural violence problems that their immediate society is facing. It is therefore easier to address the problems in better ways that can counter international conflicts.
The laying of foundation for peace rebuilding is facilitated by the analytical understanding of influences of structural violence on international conflicts. The realization that international conflicts are rampant in the society makes many to rise up in advocating for peace in the society. The campaigns conducted play a pivotal role in societal restoration.
The interference of the undesirable human acts that sometimes take preeminence in the society is easy, with the understanding of the paths they take. It is also easy to set frameworks that are necessary in addressing diverse magnitudes of international conflicts, as well as violence that may hinder the overall international development (Keenan and McDonagh, 1996).
Combating international and local conflicts is possible when there is clear information of the impacts of the structural violence on the society. The effect of the psychological and physical systems of the people that have been deprived of their positive peace by the structural violence is eased when there is understanding.
The government systems find it easier to lay grounds for advocating for a hopeful future whenever they analyze possible causes of international conflicts. The balancing of races, and background differences is duly addressed in understanding that races distinctions are major causes of structural violence that cause international conflicts.
The comprehension of violence relationship with the international conflict acts as an ample tool for stabilization of the economy, politics, as well as the social structures. This is done via the employment of ample strategies that would enhance the compatibility of all systems. Cultural differences can be easily solved with the understanding of the problem that arises from the structural violence.
Moreover, the rampancy of issues like sexism, health facility accessibility difficulties, and other impacts of structural violence can be easily addressed in the comprehension of their causal factors. The moderation of the international law above all is enabled through the comprehension of international conflicts on the basis of structural violence (Keenan and McDonagh, 1996).
Conclusion
Structural violence is a fundamental concept in the analysis and understanding of international conflicts. Structural conflicts arise from the creation of room that benefits and privileges a certain group in the society, while the rest suffer inadequacy for their desires. International conflicts occur due to incompatibility of different parties in regards to a matter of concern, and at a particular time.
The usefulness of the structural violence in the understanding of the international conflicts lies in its comprehensive nature in addressing negative issues that affect the society indirectly.
However, the understanding of this usefulness is crucial in the construction of a stable society in all realms of human interaction. Nevertheless, more empirical and theoretical studies should be conducted to enhance the importance of structural violence in understanding the international conflicts scope.
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