Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- PART I Introduction
- PART II Escalation Forms and Outcomes
- 2 Deadlocks in Negotiation Dynamics
- 3 Deterrence, Escalation, and Negotiation
- 4 Quantitative Models for Armament Escalation and Negotiations
- 5 Entrapment in International Negotiations
- 6 The Role of Vengeance in Conflict Escalation
- PART III Negotiating out of Escalation
- PART IV Conclusion
- Index
- About the Processes of International Negotiation (PIN) Network at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
6 - The Role of Vengeance in Conflict Escalation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- PART I Introduction
- PART II Escalation Forms and Outcomes
- 2 Deadlocks in Negotiation Dynamics
- 3 Deterrence, Escalation, and Negotiation
- 4 Quantitative Models for Armament Escalation and Negotiations
- 5 Entrapment in International Negotiations
- 6 The Role of Vengeance in Conflict Escalation
- PART III Negotiating out of Escalation
- PART IV Conclusion
- Index
- About the Processes of International Negotiation (PIN) Network at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Summary
Something about revenge breeds its escalation. It is an all too familiar pattern. Someone harms us, and we retaliate, which in turn brings about yet another harmful response – and so on. This progression of retaliatory actions often incurs costs that are out of proportion to the harm that initiated the conflict in the first place. What causes this costly, often deadly, pattern of vengeful behavior? The main goal of this chapter is to examine the role of vengeance in escalating conflict. While acknowledging that many factors often contribute to conflict escalation (see Pruitt and Kim 2004), I argue that the desire for vengeance is a key driving force behind many escalating conflicts. I also try to show that an understanding of the nature of vengeance, especially as it operates at the collective level, reveals why it is such an important factor. Finally, I briefly suggest a few ways that the escalatory pattern of vengeance can be curbed.
The Nature of Vengeance
Potency of vengeance
O child, child
now I begin my mourning,
the wild newly-learned melody
from the sprit of revenge
Euripides, HecubaIn Euripides’ great tragedy, Hecuba suffers unimaginable harm at the hands of the Greeks. They destroy her beloved Troy, kill her husband and most of her children, and reduce her, the queen of Troy, to a Greek slave. Remarkably, despite these torments, her heart remains relatively free from the desire for vengeance.
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- Escalation and Negotiation in International Conflicts , pp. 141 - 162Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005
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