The problem of violence in Europe is largely at a national level. In terms of law and
order, European integration has focused attention on the workings of informal
economies and the implication for these economies for transnational crime, the
trafficking of drugs and/or women and children, and money laundering. But the bulk
of criminal violence in any one jurisdiction is often “home-grown” and fostered by
internal, cultural, and historic tensions that are rooted in social processes and social
identities. Violence here is defined as any behavior by an individual that intentionally
threatens, attempts to inflict, or does cause physical, sexual or psychological harm to
others or to themselves.
The main objective of the Action is to develop knowledge outside the discourse of
law enforcement in order to understand the various forms of violence in European
countries, together with theoretical insights.
The second objective is to disaggregate violence and to examine its many forms in
different European countries. We are creating new ways of accounting for the
contribution of different forms of violence to overall statistics on violence. We are
also discussing how these moral visual forms of violence mask forms of hidden
violence.
A third objective is to explore violence for its social patterns. These patterns currently
illustrate that the risk of violence is not equally distributed throughout society.
A fourth objective is to match theoretical insights and empirical observations with the
manner in which violence is portrayed in popular and media discourses.
Finally, the Action enables a multi-disciplinary group of scholars to share insight
across nation, discipline and interest to challenge the way in which we account for
violence as a phenomenon in Europe.
