State and its Propagation and Encouragement of Violence

Abstract

The chapter explores the relationship between state and violence. Citing theories in support of the premise, the attempt is to illicit that the state in its mere existence is characterised by use of legitimate violence. In this chapter, we will be discussing the state’s misuse of its monopoly on violence. The aforementioned topic will be discussed in reference to the role citizens play in the modern nation state when legitimate violence is rationalised through narratives of nationalism, self-defence and hysteria in terms of religion, ethnicity, culture and practices, etc; how an alternative culture is vilified in opposition of the dominant; how historically and in present times, soft power is used to propagate and encourage use of legitimate violence by the state.

Keywords: legitimate violence, soft power, cultural relativism, propaganda, hysteria