Galtung: Cultural Violence Flashcards
What is Galtung’s general definition of violence?
Avoidable insults to basic human needs and more generally to life
How does Galtung define cultural violence?
a. Anything that can be used to justify or legitimize structural violence
b. Makes structural violence look/feel NOT wrong
c. Changes moral code, makes reality opaque
i. Stars, crosses, flags, anthems etc
What is the purpose of cultural violence?
a. Highlights the way in which the act of direct violence and the fact of structural violence are legitimized and thus rendered acceptable in society
b. One way this works is by changing the moral color of an act from red/wrong to green/right or at least to yellow/acceptable
c. Another way is by making reality opaque, so that we do not see the violent act or fact, or at least not as violent
What does Galtung say about peace culture in relation to peace studies?
a. Peace studies should not be limited to being the opposite of war
b. Nor abolition or control of super weapons
c. Interconnections among types of violence are left out like side-effects
What are the four categories of human needs and their negation?
a. Survival needs
i. Death, mortality
b. Well-being needs
i. Misery, morbidity
c. Identity / meaning needs
i. alienation
d. Freedom needs
i. repression
How does Galtung define structural violence, and what does he see as resting at its center?
a. Exploitation is at the Center
b. Structural Violence - some social structure or social institution may harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs
Ex: discrimination
(may need revision)
