Power Violence And The Political Imagination

Power, Violence, and the Political Imagination

Examines structural violence, insurgent narratives, and representational politics.

Boston College

Fragile Victory

James E. Cronin

Stetson University

Corporatocracy

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy

University of Pittsburgh

Death to Realism! Toward a Social Psychology of Palestinian Resistance

Mohammed A Bamyeh

Brown University

Stealing an Election: Violence or Fraud?

Dawn Brancati

Newcastle University

Politics of Difference: Epistemologies of Peace

Overview

This theme confronts how violence operates — not only through weapons or warfare, but through structures, symbols, and stories. It interrogates the architectures of power that normalize exclusion, how resistance emerges in response, and the political narratives used to justify or contest domination. From the psychology of occupation to electoral manipulation, from corporate rule to peace epistemologies, the theme dissects how violence is legitimized, imagined, and resisted — and how political futures are shaped in its wake.

Why It Matters

Structural Violence: Injustice often hides beneath legal, economic, or cultural systems — invisible yet pervasive.
Narrative Power: Political authority depends on stories — of legitimacy, order, threat, and redemption.
Insurgent Voices: Understanding resistance requires listening beyond mainstream frameworks of realism and decorum.
Crisis of Democracy: As institutions weaken, violence can shift form — from tanks to laws, from coups to corporate dominance.

Core Concepts

Post-War Power & Fragility

Reflects on the post-WWII order, its illusions of stability, and the unresolved tensions that fuel modern crises.
'Victory' as a fragile construct, masking unfinished struggles.

Corporate Political Domination

Exposes how corporate influence undermines democratic processes.
The rise of the 'corporatocracy' as a form of quiet authoritarianism.

Resistance & Political Psychology

Rejects dominant realist paradigms in favor of understanding resistance through emotion, imagination, and social energy.
Focuses on Palestinian narratives as counter-discourses to structural repression.

Electoral Violence & Legitimacy

Unpacks the blurry lines between fraud and force in undermining democratic outcomes.
When is an election 'stolen' — and by what means?

Peace, Difference, and Epistemology

Centers marginalized ways of knowing and being in peacebuilding efforts.
Reframes peace as not merely the absence of war, but the active dismantling of oppressive logics.

Key Questions

Violence As Structure

How do laws, corporations, and institutions enact violence without visible force?
What are the 'quiet' weapons of modern power?

Resistance Narrative

Whose stories are seen as legitimate political expression — and whose are dismissed as irrational or dangerous?
How can resistance reshape the political imagination?

Democracy Deception

What forms of electoral manipulation constitute violence?
How does fraud differ from suppression in undermining legitimacy?

Beyond Western Peace

How can peace processes center epistemologies that have been historically silenced?
What does justice look like in a world of deep asymmetry?

Suggested Use

For Political Analysts Activists

A guide for unpacking how systems of violence evolve and how resistance is framed or silenced.

For Educators Scholars

An interdisciplinary resource bridging political science, sociology, psychology, and ethics.

For Journalists Civic Leaders

A lens for analyzing contemporary crises not just through events, but through power structures and imagined futures.