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When a conflict arises--whether between individuals or groups--a social actor can choose to avoid or engage in the conflict nonviolently or violently. A social actor may choose to take up arms to defeat his or her opponent. In this sense, violence is an offensive strategy for asserting and gaining power. Violence can also be a defensive strategy, a behavior conducted to protect oneself, allies, and/or property in the face of acute aggression. In this manner, violence is utilized to neutralize the encroaching enemy. Overall, violence has led to an estimated 191 million lives lost directly or indirectly as a result of conflict in the 20th century, over half of them civilians.

Violence has been central to defining and characterizing the social world. Max Weber defined a nation-state as the legitimate monopolization on the use of physical force or violence within a given territory. Thomas Hobbes argued that humans in a state of nature had a right to everything in the world, which justified the use of violence against everybody else. Yet, in the interest of personal survival, humans renounced this right to use violence and instead respected the authority of a state (with its monopoly on violence) to maintain peace.

The role of violence in the record of human history is disputed. Some scholars assert that humans are innately violent and violence has always been part of the human condition. Others point to archaeological evidence that suggests that violence is a more novel aspect of humanity, taking a prominent role only when war became a regular practice after the transition to sedentary existence (around 6000 BCE). Experts maintain that violence is regenerative, that it can give birth to itself. Perpetrators of violence such as child abusers often were victims of violence themselves. Revolutionary militants who overthrow repressive dictators often exercise violence later to command obedience of the populace. This notion that "violence begets violence" is critical to effectively planning and implementing various violence prevention programs and policies.

Individuals and collectives invest in violence prevention to reduce both the likelihood of violent occurrences and their harmful ramifications. Unfortunately, these efforts often only become a concern after the violence has already occurred. The Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict identified several factors that put states at risk of violent conflict: (a) lack of democratic processes, (b) gross social inequalities, (c) control of valuable natural resources by a single group, and (d) rapid demographic changes that surpass a state's capacity to provide services to the populace. Monitoring states for these factors and taking action to curb them if they arise are helpful contributions to diminishing the prevalence of violence.

Other forms of violence prevention include encouraging healthy behaviors and attitudes in individuals through therapy programs and psychological support. Violence prevention can also be part of training on conflict resolution, active communication, and relationship building. Finally, some seek to prevent violence by instituting various policies that address the social and economic forces leading to violence. The 2002 World Health Organization report on violence and health offered the following succinct recommendations for violence prevention: (1) create, implement, and monitor a national action plan for violence prevention; (2) enhance capacity for collecting data on violence; (3) define priorities for, and support research on, the causes, consequences, costs, and prevention of violence; (4) promote primary prevention responses; (5) strengthen responses for victims of violence; (6) integrate violence prevention into social and educational policies, and thereby promote gender and social equality; (7) increase collaboration and exchange of information on violence prevention; (8) promote and monitor adherence to international treaties, laws, and other mechanisms to protect human rights; and (9) seek practical, internationally agreed responses to the global drug trade and the global arms trade.

References:

1) Bourdieu, Pierre and Wacquant, Loic. 2004. "Symbolic Violence." Pp. 272-74 in Violence in War and Peace: An Anthology, edited by N. Scheper-Hughes and P. Bourgois. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

2) Galtung, Johan. 1969. "Violence, Peace, and Peace Research." Journal of Peace Research 6(1):167-91. "On Nonviolence & Violence." 2007. Special Issue of Daedalus: Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 136(1).

3) Scheper-Hughes, Nancy and Philippe Bourgois. 2004. Violence in War and Peace: An Anthology. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

4) World Health Organization. 2002. "World Report on Violence and Health."

5) World Health Organization. 2007. "Third Milestones for a Global Health Campaign for Violence Prevention Report, 2007: Scaling Up." 

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