Terror’s Motor How Shame and Humiliation Turn the Spiral of Violence
JANA JAKOB
Faculty of Theology Master Programme in Religion in Peace and Conflict Brian Palmer 16 October 2016 [R]ecognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, (…)
– 1st sentence of the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 Abstract
In this thesis I examine the role of shame and humiliation as root causes of violence. I focus on violent far-right and Islamic extremism, but in order to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon, even gang violence and criminality are investigated. Through an ethnographic approach with thick description, the thesis attempts to capture insights, experiences and knowledge in the form of personal narratives of a variety of people – police officers, youths, researchers, psychologists, ex-cons and social workers. The investigation explores shame and humiliation as pivotal factors for violent behaviour. The concept of retributive justice, prevalent in many prisons around the world and in popular understandings of morality, is shown to be counter-productive. This has far-reaching implications for both the penal system and approaches to preventing radicalisation. As an alternative, I argue for an approach of fostering human dignity as the most effective strategy for the prevention of violence and radicalisation. Inspired by Immanuel Kant’s essay ”Perpetual Peace”, I call this the perpetual dignity approach.
Keywords shame, humiliation, perpetual dignity, human rights, terrorism, radicalisation, extremism, violence, punishment