Peacebuilding &conflict transformation A ... - Peaceworkafrica

Aggression and alcoholAlcohol weakens judgment and makes people much less cautious than they usuallyare. Alcohol also disrupts the way information is processed. A drunken person ismuch more likely to view an accidental event as a purposeful one, and therefore actsmore aggressively 32 . Example: Someone accidentally pushes a drunk person in passing.The drunkard might react by shouting at or beating this person aggressively.While in a non‐drunken state the accidental push might only result in a comment orthe raising of an eyebrow.Aggression and painPain and discomfort also increase aggression. Hot temperatures have been implicatedas a factor of aggressive behaviour in a number of studies. One study completedin the midst of the civil rights movement in the US found that riots were morelikely on hotter days than cooler ones. Other studies found that students were moreaggressive and irritable after taking a test in a hot classroom 33 .6.2 The dynamics of violence –the Major (M) – minor (m) systemA warning from former German President Johannes Rau not to follow the feeling ofrevenge blindly after 9/11 “… it is about withstanding hate and making room for compassion.Whosoever does not hate, does the same time say No to violence.” 34The following information is based on the theories of the Belgian anthropologistand lecturer in conflict transformation Pat Patfoort. She developed a variety ofmodels on violence, which clarify in a simple and recognizable way the nature,causes and mechanisms of violence.According to Pat Patfoort, violence originates in human conditions and relations,in the differences between two or more people in characteristics, behaviour,beliefs, points of view, etc. Usually we deal with these differences in conflict situationsby trying to present our own point of view as the better one, by ‘being right’,trying to win, by putting oneself in an upper position. This Major‐minor way ofthinking and acting is the basis of the escalation of violence due the fact that eachparty involved tries to get out of the minor‐position and into the Major‐position 35 .The root of violence can therefore be seen as an unbalanced relationshipbetween two positions of power — one being the Major (M) and the other being theminor (m). One may be unaware of her/his minor or Major position of power in agiven situation or one may use the minor or Major position intentionally.There are many ways to put oneself in the Major‐position, which is expressedin for example: having the upper hand over somebody, in dominating, overpoweringor overruling.6 . T h e d y n a m i c s o f c o n f l i c t s a n d v i o l e n c e 161