Frontiers of Violence

Conflict and Identity in Ulster and Upper Silesia, 1918-1922
1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-0-19-958371-3
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 278 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 527 g

Reihe: Oxford Historical Monographs

Compares the effects of partition in two European regions - Ulster and Upper Silesia
History from below - shows how communities determined the nature of violence
A new assessment of why violence can descend into atrocity

In the years after the First World War both Ulster and Upper Silesia saw violent conflicts over self-determination. The violence in Upper Silesia was more intense both in the numbers killed and in the forms it took. Acts of violation such as rape or mutilation were noticeably more common in Upper Silesia than in Ulster.

Examining the nature of communal boundaries, Timothy Wilson explains the profound contrasts in these experiences of plebeian violence. In Ulster the rival communities were divided by religion, but shared a common language. In Upper Silesia, the rival sides were united in religion-92 per cent of the local population being Catholic-but ostensibly divided on linguistic grounds between German and Polish speakers. In practice, language in Upper Silesia proved a far more porous boundary than did religion in Ulster. Language could not always be taken as a straightforward indication of national loyalties.

At a local level, boundaries mattered because without them there could not be any sense of security. In Ulster, where communal identities were already clearly staked out, militants tended to concentrate on the limited task of boundary maintenance. In Upper Silesia, where national identities were so unclear, they focused upon boundary creation. This was a task that required more 'transgressive' violence. Hence atrocity was more widely practised in Upper Silesia because it could, and did, act as a polarizing force.

Zielgruppe

Students and scholars of modern European history; all those interested in the history of violence and nationalism

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wilson, Timothy

Wilson, T.K.

Wilson, Tim

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Ethnologie Kultur- und Sozialethnologie: Politische Ethnologie, Recht, Organisation, Identität
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Militärgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte Europäische Regional- & Stadtgeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Gewalt Revolutionäre Gruppen und Bewegungen, Bewaffnete Konflikte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction
1: A Framework for Comparison
2: Loyalism and Violence
3: Irish /Polish Nationalism and Violence
4: Boundaries, Territory, Identity and Violence
Conclusion: Retrieved Gauntlets
Glossary
Biographical Notes
Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

T.K. Wilson, University of St Andrews