Disturbing the Peace: How the United States Influences Trends in Global Political Violence

Ringvorlesung des Exzellenzclusters "Die Herausbildung normativer Ordnungen": The End of Pacification? The Transformation of Political Violence in the 21st Century

Prof. Matthew A. Evangelista (Cornell University)

30. Januar 2019, 18.15 Uhr

Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Campus Westend, Hörsaalzentrum, HZ9

Abstract
In the debates over whether the world is undergoing a long-term decline in political violence or merely a transformation, the United States plays a distinctive role. Having accumulated more political and military power than history has ever seen, the United States finds itself in a hegemonic position that offers it disproportionate influence on the norms governing the use of force. Even if prevailing global trends point toward greater pacification of political life, can US behavior undermine those trends? This presentation seeks answers by examining several patterns evident in recent US behavior, some of which represent US initiatives, others of which follow other states’ examples. These include: selective individualization and permissive legalization of armed conflict, violent polarization of domestic conflict; government-sanctioned persecution of refugees and immigrants; and promotion of misogynist nationalism. Some of these behaviors are the product of Donald Trump’s administration, but others are of longer gestation.

CV
Matthew Evangelista is President White Professor of History and Political Science and former chair of the Department of Government at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.  He received his undergraduate degree in Russian History and Literature from Harvard and his MA and PhD in Government from Cornell. He has been a visiting scholar at Harvard, Stanford, the Brookings Institution, and the European University Institute in Florence, and a visiting professor at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Università di Bologna, and Università di Roma Tre. His recent books include Law, Ethics, and the War on Terror (2008), Gender, Nationalism, and War (2011), The American Way of Bombing: Changing Ethical and Legal Norms, from Flying Fortresses to Drones (2014), and Do the Geneva Conventions Matter? (2017). He has served on the editorial boards of Cornell University Press and journals including World Politics and International Organization, and as Chair of the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research.

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Veranstalter:
Exzellenzcluster "Die Herausbildung normativer Ordnungen"