Collective Violence: A Research Agenda and Some Strategic Considerations

This paper is based on the premise that current empirical analyses of collective violence are largely inadequate, and takes as its primary objective a detailed specification of alternative methodological strategies. Quantitative research on violence is cited for problems of measurement and causal inference, which stem from attempts to represent important theoretical concepts (relative deprivation, resource mobilization) at levels of analysis other than those at which they are formulated. Alternative strategies for empirical investigation of violence include timeseries analyses of individual perceptions and data on organized groups, as well as studies of crowd dynamics. Methods for linking the latter type of qualitative approach to quantitative ecological analyses are indicated. In general, the conclusions strongly suggest a theoretical and empirical reorientation toward “disaggregated†approaches to collective violence, and away from global conceptual and cross-national methodological efforts. Although consideration is limited to the determinants of domestic violence, the concluding section outlines the potential relevance of international linkages and the outcomes of violence to these central concerns.