Relationship between violence and power - Essay Example

? Relationship between violence and power Introduction Power and violence are not the same. Power is psychological, a moral force that makes people want to obey. Violence enforces obedience through physical coercion. Those who use violence may manage to temporarily impose their will, but their command is always tenuous because when the violence ends, or the threat of it lessens, there is even less incentive to obey the authorities (Power and violence, n. d) Power and violence seem to have close relationships. It is difficult for a person to engage in violent activities without power. Hitler succeeded in killing thousands of Jews because of the power he had. Same way Saddam succeeded in killing thousands of Kurds because of the political power he had. Many people believe that the current war on terror conducting by America in Afghanistan and Iraq would have never happened if Afghanistan and Iraq had more power than America. It should be remembered that America failed to take any positive steps against China even though Chinese military killed many of the innocent people in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Chinese military was able to suppress the protest through violent means only because of the power they had. In short, power is associated with every violent activities happening in this world. This paper analyses various dimensions of the relationships between power and violence. Relationship between violence and power “Power corresponds to human ability, not just to act, but to act in concert”(Arendt, 1970, p.44). Power always results in active actions rather than passive actions. The society accepts the actions of the people with power, more significantly than the actions of the people with less power. For example, in Muslim community, it is possible for the males to have more than one wife whereas the females cannot have more than one husband. This is purely because of the male domination over the females in Muslim community. The above male domination in some fundamental Muslim societies resulted in massacres against the Muslim females. Baker (2010) has written the story of Beebe Ayesha, wife of a cruel Afghan husband, whose nose and ear were cut off by the Taliban for trying to escape from her husband’s house, in Time magazine The Taliban pounded on the door just before midnight, demanding that Aisha, 18, be punished for running away from her husband's house. They dragged her to a mountain clearing near her village in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, ignoring her protests that her in-laws had been abusive, that she had no choice but to escape. Shivering in the cold air and blinded by the flashlights trained on her by her husband's family, she faced her spouse and accuser. Her in-laws treated her like a slave, Aisha pleaded. They beat her. If she hadn't run away, she would have died. Her judge, a local Taliban commander, was unmoved. Later, he would tell Aisha's uncle that she had to be made an example of lest other girls in the village try to do the same thing. The commander gave his verdict, and men moved in to deliver the punishment. Aisha's brother-in-law held her down while her husband pulled out a knife. First he sliced off her ears. Then he started on her nose. Aisha passed out from the pain but awoke soon after, choking on her own blood. The men had left her on the mountainside to die (Baker, 2010). The above story clearly shows that power plays an important role in determining the extent of violence. Arendt, (1970) has argued that “in domestic affairs, violence functions as the last resort of power (Arendt, 1970, p.51). The above argument seems to be correct in Aishas case. It should be note that such barbaric acts will never take place in advanced Muslim communities like Iran or UAE. Aisha succeeded in getting her nose back after escaping to United Sates and undergoing plastic surgery for the reconstruction of her nose. However, there are many other Aishas in Afghanistan like fundamental societies who are facing the cruelties of power differentials in our society. It is difficult to anticipate a similar incident happening in America or Britain since these countries the gap between the males and females are less as far as power is concerned. “Violence is a continuum of harm in which physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse of power at individual and group level exists”(Stanko, 2002, p.92).The violence against the women community is more compared to the violence happening in this world against the male community. This is purely because of the more physical, psychological and emotional powers enjoyed by the male community over the female community. If a female possesses more physical power than a male, that male will never try to exploit that female sexually even if he gets a suitable opportunity. On the other hand, if the same female possesses less physical ability than the same male mentioned earlier, that person may try to exploit that female if he gets suitable opportunity. In other words, more power always serves as a motivation for violence. Holy Bible revealed a story which clearly establishes the relationship between power and violence. The story of Tamar in 2 Samuel 13 is part of a context where violence against women, specifically sexual violence, is an instrument of superiority and power. The case of Tamar involves incest and rape in the field of the royal house. Men are involved in conspiracies, expecting for the right moment to act, and are men who after the fact had occurred ordered silence instead of denounce. Tamar’s voice and her protest are related in the text, but her power of denouncing and acting are abruptly interrupted. The victim, the woman didn’t shut up, but men, whom coexist with violence call for silence. David, the father and the king, in the end doesn’t cry because of the violence in his house. He and the men that surround him lament the dead of Amnon that is done in the middle of the conflict for power (Neunfeldt, 2007, p.1) The struggle for dominance has started even from creation of human itself. Holy Bible says, Kane, the elder son of Adam killed Abel the younger one, out of jealousy. Abel failed to save his life because of the superior muscle power of Kane. History also mentioned lot of incidents in which stronger states attack weaken ones. Scheper-Hughes and Bourgois, (2003) have pointed out that “Enormous power of authoritative institutions elicit cruel behaviours or violence” (Scheper-Hughes and Bourgois, 2003, p.16). America succeeded in conquering Iraq because of their superior political, military and economical power. Even after conquering Iraq, American troops tried to harass or molest the military prisoners and innocent Iraqi people. “The Abu Ghraib province west of Baghdad in Iraq became a household name globally when news of American troops torturing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison broke in April, 2004” (Zalman, 2011). If America’s intentions were only to save Iraqi people from the hands of Saddam, they should have never engaged in such barbaric acts. In short, power motivated American soldiers to behave immorally and cruelly against the Iraqi people and military prisoners. “In the Columbian dirty war also, power was exercised through the circulation of terror” (Scheper-Hughes and Bourgois, 2003, p.16) “Sufferings is often been considered as the solvent of human dignity and integrity” (Scheper-Hughes and Bourgois, 2003, p.19). Human integrity and dignity is traditionally believed to be rested on power. A person with less power and influence is considered as a weaker one according to the traditional beliefs. The famous Darwinian Theory “the fittest will survive” is applicable in the case of human being also. In international affairs, the opinions of Ethiopia or Somalia are getting less recognition even whereas that of America or Britain is getting better acceptances. This is not because of the fact that America or Britain always put forward wise and logical opinions and Somalia or Ethiopia always raises rubbish opinions. The power of America or Britain forces other countries to accept their opinions even if it is rubbish. For example, America attacked Iraq, accusing Iraq for the possession of weapons of mass destruction. The rest of the world also accepted the opinions of America and gave permission to America for attacking Iraq. Even the United Nations refrained from making any serious efforts to prevent the Iraq war. However, even after years of searching and the execution of Saddam, no weapons of mass destruction have been seized from Iraq. The former United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, declared explicitly for the first time on Wednesday, September 15, 2004 that the US-led war on Iraq was illegal (MacAskill and Borger, 2004). Not only Kofi Annan, the entire world now know that the Iraq war was conducted by America, not for the declared objectives, but for executing some hidden agenda. In short, the power of America and its allies forced the rest of the world to accept the arguments of America while rejecting the claims of Saddam. It is evident from the above example that weaker countries always face exploitation and violent behaviour from the stronger countries because of their lack of power. “Where power is exercised by few or only one against the many, privilege is born and proliferates”(Scheper-Hughes and Bourgois, 2003, p.85). “Rape in prison is rarely an act of sex, but one of violence, politics and an acting out of power roles” (Gilligan, 1997, p.181). There are many incidents in which the stronger prisoners exploit weaker prisoners sexually. Homosexuality is a common thing in jails. Even those who dislike homosexuality may engage in homosexual activities inside the jails if they get suitable opportunities. It is not necessary that all these sexual activities occur out of the sexual desires of the prisoners. In most of the cases the stronger prisoner uses such tactics in order to demonstrate his power. It should be noted that the weaker prisoner can never force a stronger prisoner for such activities. In short, superior power motivates prisoners to engage in violent sexual activities with fellow prisoners. “When a government turns to violence, it is because it feels its power is slipping away. Governments that rule through violence are weak. Dictators have always had to rely on terror against their own populations to compensate for their powerlessness”(Power and violence, n. d). Institutions need power to stamp their authority. Powerless institutions may become ineffective. At the time of writing this paper, strong protests against the Libyan administration is going on. Gaddafi is using his power violently to suppress the public agitations. “In the past several days, Colonel Moammar Gadhafi’s forces are estimated to have deliberately killed hundreds of peaceful protesters and innocent bystanders across the country. In the city of Benghazi alone, one doctor reported seeing at least 200 dead bodies”(Alaiwah, 2011). In the above example also, power helped Gaddafi to suppress the human agitations against him. China is also not an exception. The 1989 Tiananmen Square incident reminds us the importance of power in suppressing agitations against political administrations. BBC 91989) reported that “several hundred civilians have been shot dead by the Chinese army during a bloody military operation to crush a democratic protest in Peking's Tiananmen Square” (BBC, 1989). “Politics and violence often go hand in hand” (The relationship between violence and political power, 2011). However, in many cases, politicians stay away from directly involving in the violent activities. It is because of their fear of criticisms from international community. It is difficult for politicians to stay in power for longer periods without taking the opinions of international community, especially in the current globalized world. The examples of Saddam, Hosni Mubarak are some of the recent incidents in which dictators forced to leave power because of the people agitations and international interferences. Many people believe that the expulsion of Libyan leader Gaddaffi is also very near. Conclusions Violence and power have direct relationships. Without power, violence will never exist. The massacres and sexual exploitation against the women community are increasing because of the superior power of the male community over the female community. Stronger countries attack weaker countries, only because of their superior power. Dictators are able to suppress the protests against them with the help of power. In short, power and violence are complementing each other. Whenever, power increases, violence may also increases. References 1. Arendt H. (1970) On Violence. Publisher: Mariner Books; 1 edition (March 11, 1970) 2. Alaiwah, (2011). Urgent Appeal to World Leaders to Stop Atrocities in Libya. 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[Online] Available at: http://www.isedet.edu.ar/journal/violence.pdf [Accessed on 1 March 2011] 8. Power and violence (n.d) [Online] Available at: http://www.fragmentsweb.org/fourtx/pow_vitx.html [Accessed on 1 March 2011] 9. Scheper-Hughes N. and Bourgois P. (2003) Violence in War and Peace: An Anthology. Publisher: Blackwell Publishing; 1st edition (November 17, 2003) 10. Stanko. E. (2002) The Meanings of Violence Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (26 Dec 2002) 11. The relationship between violence and political power (2011). [Online] Available at: http://hubpages.com/hub/The-relationship-between-violence-and-political-power [Accessed on 1 March 2011] 12. Zalman, A. (2011). Abu Ghraib Prison. [Online] Available at: http://terrorism.about.com/od/usforeignpolicy/g/AbuGhraib.htm [Accessed on 1 March 2011] Read More