Research Network on the Violence and the State

News | Posted on Wednesday 25 July 2018

York academic will be part of the leadership team for a new White Rose network.

Dr Shaul Mitelpunkt, together with Dr Simon Toner (University of Sheffield), and Dr Sean Fear (University of Leeds), are set to lead a new White Rose network entitled 'The Violent State in Historical Perspective’. 

The network aims to shed light on a broad range of longstanding questions about the historical dynamics of the state's relationship to violence through time.

Under what conditions do states gain a monopoly on violence? Are strong or weak states likely to be more or less violent? Violence is a constituent factor in social, political, and economic relations. But what role does it play in the state’s attempt to fabricate a socio-economic and political order? What kinds of violence do states endorse and employ and which do they reject? What role do states play in legitimising some forms of violence and delegitimising others? How has this varied in different temporal and geographic settings? 

The network will hold a variety of events in 2018-19, including workshops, lectures and an international conference, all of which are open to staff and students from the three universities.