Citation

Pilisuk M, Zazzi J. J. Soc. Iss. 2006; 62(1): 41-62.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1540-4560.2006.00438.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A theory of the roots of violent conflict in the global era focuses upon a pattern of intervention by the United States, its allies, and proxy forces. It emphasizes a dominant set of beliefs and powerful networks in a position to apply them. The networks protect and extend their concentrations of wealth using violence or the threat of violence to produce compliant governments, to identify enemies, to mobilize consent, and to minimize the perceived costs of such activity. U.S. government agencies and large global corporations are central to this effort. Illustrations are provided by descriptions of military actions in Venezuela, East Timor, and Iraq. Implications for research include the value of using network analysis to identify centers of combined corporate and governmental power and the value of combining the study of belief systems with studies identifying such centers of power.