La violencia: cultural, estructural y directa

Abstract

This chapter introduces the concept of `cultural violence’, and can be seen as\na follow-up of the author’s introduction of the concept of `structural violence’\nalmost 50 years ago (Galtung, 1969). `Cultural violence’ is defined here as\nany aspect of a culture that can be used to legitimize violence in its direct or\nstructural form. Symbolic violence built into a culture does not kill or maim\nlike direct violence or the explotation built into the structural violence. However,\nit is used to legitimize either or both, as for instance in the concept of\nsuperior race. The relations between direct, structural and cultural violence\nare explored, using a violence triangle and a violence strata image, with\nvarious types of casual flows. Examples of cultural violence are indicated,\nusing a division of culture into religion and ideology, art and language, and\nempirical and formal science. The theory of cultural violence is then related\nto two basic points Gandhi’s culture of peace, the doctrines of unity of life and\nof unity of means and ends. Finally, the inclusion of culture as a major focus\nof peace research is seen not only as deepening the quest for peace, but also\nas a possible contribution to the as yet non-existent general discipline of\n«culturology».

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