Multilateral Generation of Violence: On the Theorization of Microscopic Analyses and Empirically Grounded Theories of Violence

Abstract

Using two phenomena of violence against children and intimate partner violence and based on two case studies, we explore the extent to which social processes of interpreting and negotiating violence contribute to further theorization efforts. The central unifying element is that both forms of violence are enabled and performed in power relations and have long been socially, legally, and politically legitimized. Therefore, our study's focus is not on violence as a subject but rather on the social negotiation and construction of meanings of actions framed as violent. This perspective is exemplified by two independent case studies and data material that illustrate how such microscopic arguments are developed empirically. The methods used for the two case studies include qualitative analyses of interviews and organizational documents. Hence, we also discuss the researchers' involvement and challenges in these processes. Based on our analytical findings, we argue for the use of an approach of a subject appropriated theorizing violence rather than a formal theory formation of violence. The procedural analysis of violence revealed its importance in making non-public and socially taboo forms of violence analytically accessible.