Description
Book SynopsisThis book provides an introduction to the work of Norbert Elias. It is the first systematic appraisal of two central themes of his thought -- violence and civilization. Although Elias is best known for his theory of civilizing processes, this study highlights the crucial importance of the concept of decivilizing processes.
Trade Review"
Violence and Civilization is an outstanding book. It is both an extremely valuable addition to the small but growing literature on the work of Norbert Elias and, in its own right, a major contribution to our understanding of a subject central to contemporary social theory - violence."
Stephen Mennell, University College Dublin "Violence and Civilization is a tour de force, a 'must' for the growing number of sociologists who are coming to recognize Norbert Elias as a twentieth-century 'great'. Elias has often been criticized on spurious grounds - for example, for neglecting Nazism and the Holocaust - but, by tackling head-on how Elias actually grappled with such issues, Jonathan Fletcher succeeds in developing a critique which merits serious consideration. He has produced a clear, well-written text which is nicely balanced between exposition and appraisal. Violence and Civilization will be invaluable for those who wish to take Elias's project further." Eric Dunning, University of Leicester
"A valuable addition to the literature on Elias's 'configurational sociology', a study that allows deeper appreciation of Elias's fertile imagination." The Times Higher Educational Supplement
"This book is a welcome addition to the small Elias literature. The book provides a clear and not uncritical assessment of Elias's remarkable capacity to capture social complexity as it relates to the inner lives of human beings. There are not many readers who will not find somewhere in this volume an insight which can be taken on board and used as a point for future reference. Few scholars have the knowledge or ability to even think of writing such a book." British Journal of Sociology
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ix
1 Introduction 1
2 Civilization, Habitus and Civilizing Processes 6
The development of civilization as a concept 6
Changes in social and individual habitus 10
Socialization, aggression and shame 21
3 Violence, Habitus and State Formation 31
Violence monopolies and pacification 31
Linearity, development and evolution 39
On the concepts of violence and civilization 45
4 Identity, Violence and Process Models 55
Interdependence, social bonds and the we–I balance 55
Established-outsider relations 70
Criteria of civilizing and decivilizing processes 82
5 Social Habitus and Civilizing Processes in England 88
State formation and pacification 89
Public opinion and national ideals 96
Sport and violence: the example of foxhunting 107
6 Nationalism and Decivilizing Processes in Germany 116
State formation and national identification 117
Violence in the imperial establishment 123
Violence in the Weimar Republic 134
7 Genocide and Decivilizing Processes in Germany 148
National ideals and the rise of the Nazis 148
Mass murder and national we-identity 158
Civilization, ‘modernity’ and decivilizing processes 166
8 Elias on Violence, Civilization and Decivilization 176
Notes 185
References 197
Index 209
