Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Violence and Politics / Mark Ungar, Sally Avery Bermanzohn, Kenton Worcester -- States, Social Groups, and Contentious Politics -- Violent and Nonviolent Trajectories in Contentious Politics / Charles Tilly -- Private Armies and the Decline of the State / Ulric Shannon -- State Violence and LGBT Rights / Mark Ungar -- Globalization, Weak States, and the Death Toll in East Asia / Bridget Welsh -- Political Islam: Inclusion or Violence? / Najib Ghadbian -- State Rape: Sexual Violence as Genocide / Lisa Sharlach -- Identities, Adversaries, and Democratic Values -- From Protest to Retribution: The Guerrilla Politics of Pro-life Violence / Carol Mason -- Violence, Nonviolence, and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement / Sally Avery Bermanzohn -- Ethnonational Conflicts, Democratization, and Hate Crime / Roger MacGinty -- Economics, Violence, and Protest in Venezuela: A Preview of the Global Future? / Margarita Lopez Maya, Luis E. Lander, Mark Ungar -- The Clash Within: Intrapsychically Created Enemies and Their Roles in Ethnonationalist Conflict / Jeffrey Murer -- Fear and Democracy / John Keane.

Who among us would deny that we live in a violent world? Even in an era of economic dynamism and democratic change, violence, in its many guises, has been gaining ground across world regions. Violence and Politics describes how, in both developed and developing states, violence remains a manifestation of political and economic disputes, an expression of differences -- and similarities -- and a tool of those resisting the rights of women and minorities. While policy makers once hoped that economic prosperity would lead to civil peace, it now seems evident that globalization and democratic reform does not guarantee tranquility. Opening with a broad overview by Charles Tilly on violence and politics, this volume grapples with a wide range of issues, including private armies, genocide, terrorism, hate crimes, identity politics, and human rights abuses. Crossing disciplines and subdisciplines, Violence and Politics examines the implications of Islam's connection to violence, rape as a war crime, state-sanctioned violence against gays and lesbians, and violence against those protesting for civil rights. The collection closes with an important and timely essay by John Keane on the nature of fear and democracy.