This research stream within the Amsterdam Center for Conflict Studies brings together scholars whose work lies within this continuum. We aim to improve the study of political violence by challenging disciplinary and conceptual boundaries. By engaging with each other and asking how forms of political violence relate to and diverge from one another, we aspire to open up new directions in the study of political violence.
Political violence is a regular feature of social life, but varies widely in type and scale. Ranging from killings to riots to large-scale civil wars and genocide, political violence encompasses a broad set of phenomena. The perpetrators may be state or non-state actors, violence may target state actors or civilians, and violence may produce few or many victims. Political violence can be domestic or international in scope.