Provides real-world insights into social and political conflict across disciplines
The Handbook of Social and Political Conflict offers a comprehensive exploration of conflict from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, merging insights from fields including sociology, political science, psychology, communication, and conflict resolution. Bringing together original work by experts from around the world, this authoritative volume provides readers with a deep understanding of the mechanisms, causes, and consequences of conflict.
Designed for those who wish to bridge academic disciplines, the Handbook both advances theoretical understanding and offers practical conflict resolution strategies that can be applied in a broad range of contexts, from interpersonal disputes to international tensions. Each in-depth chapter tackles a unique concept while maintaining a coherent narrative that spans topics such as political polarization, the rhetoric of social control, the role of technology in shaping conflict behaviors, and much more.
Presenting new theoretical perspectives and tools to address today's most pressing issues, the Handbook of Social and Political Conflict:
- Examines contemporary issues such as political polarization, social ostracism, cancel culture, and information warfare
- Contains in-depth analysis of critical contemporary issues such as the role of technology, artificial intelligence, and media in modern conflict
- Addresses both adversarial and cooperative approaches to conflict resolution
- Incorporates cutting-edge research and theoretical frameworks on contemporary social and political conflicts
- Offers practical approaches to fostering resilience, peacebuilding, and critical media literacy
Whether examining the escalation of political tensions or exploring the potential for peacebuilding, the Handbook of Social and Political Conflict is ideal for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in conflict resolution, political science, sociology, and communication studies. It is also an invaluable reference for professionals working in conflict management, diplomacy, international relations, and social advocacy.
Table of Contents
Tables and Figures ix
Notes on Contributors xi
1. Introduction 1
Solon Simmons and Sergei A. Samoilenko
Section I Polarization, Moral Outrage, and Extremism 17
2. Polarization 19
Samantha Vilkins, Axel Bruns, Sebastian Svegaard, Tariq Choucair, and Katharina Esau
3. Intergroup Emotions in Intergroup Conflicts: Power Disparities Perspective 31
Nur Kassem, Nimrod Nir, Anat Perry, and Eran Halperin
4. How Political and Social Conflict Enter into the Corporate Realm: Scansis as an Exemplar of Moral Outrage- Inducing Crises 47
W. Timothy Coombs and Elina R. Tachkova
5. Illiberalism as a Conceptual Prism for Studying Political and Social Conflict 57
Marlene Laruelle
6. Connective Action and Digital Surrogate Organizations 65
Steven Livingston and Lorcan Neill
7. Trojan Horse Discourse 75
Michiel Luining and Tom Van Hout
8. Culture Wars in Central Europe 83
Zora Hesová
9. Extremist Aggression: A Social Psychological Explanation 93
Daniel Rothbart
Section II Systems of Power and Rhetorics of Control 105
10. Rhetoric of Social Conflict 107
Gordana Lazić
11. Securitization 119
Marta Lukacovic
12. Cancel Culture Rhetoric 131
Jennifer Keohane
13. Spiral of Silence and Social Conflict 141
Sherice Gearhart and Oluseyi Adegbola
14. Social Ostracism and Conflict 151
Natasha R. Wood, Andrew H. Hales, and Kipling D. Williams
15. Bureaucracy 165
Amanda J. Reinke and Jaymelee J. Kim
16. Complexity and Distributed Governance 173
Jonathan P. Marshall
Section III Narrative, World- Building, and Imagination 185
17. Applying Structurational Divergence Theory to Sociopolitical Conflict 187
Anne M. Nicotera
18. Sociomaterial Actors in Political Moral Conflict 201
Kristen L. Cole and Spencer D. Choate
19. Political Conflict Frames 211
Emma S. van der Goot, Michael Hameleers, and Jeroen de Ridder
20. Gossip 221
Francesca Giardini
21. The Epistemic Eclipse: Narrative, Ideology, and the Political Situation 231
Oakley T. Hill
22. Songworld 241
Audrey Ann Williams
Section IV Media, Misinformation, and Popular Culture 251
23. The Tricksters of Permanent Liminality 253
Sergei A. Samoilenko
24. Persuasive Attack and Defense in Social and Political Conflict 271
William L. Benoit
25. Character Assassination in Politics: Gendered and Racialized Attacks on Kamala Harris 281
Jennifer Keohane, Martijn Icks, Eric Shiraev, and Sergei Samoilenko
26. Ridicule in Late- Night Political Humor in the United States: Contours and Consequences 291
Stephen J. Farnsworth, S. Robert Lichter, and Farah Latif
27. Artificial Intelligence 301
Henrik S. Sætra, Stuart Mills, and Evan Selinger
28. Visual Misinformation 313
Teresa E. Weikmann
29. Information Warfare as a Theoretical Construct and an Operational Practice 323
Greg Simons and Iulian Chifu
Section V Resilience, Humanity, and Hope 335
30. Escalation and De- escalation 337
Vincent August
31. Immunity 349
Adalberto Fernandes
32. Positive Peace 359
Michael D. English and Richard E. Rubenstein
33. Communication Approaches to Community Peacebuilding 369
Doris E. Wesley and Jessica K. Jameson
34. Human Rights 381
Clifford Bob
35. Women’s Rights Advocacy in Africa 393
Innocent Chiluwa
36. Inoculation Theory and Conspiracy, Radicalization, and Violent Extremism 405
Josh Compton and Kurt Braddock
37. Constructive Conflict and Critical Media Literacy 415
Nolan Higdon
38. The End of War: On the Future of State Violence 427
Solon Simmons and Keenan Yoho
39. Conclusions, Key Takeaways, and Implications 435
Sergei A. Samoilenko and Solon Simmons
Index 445
