Identity and Violence Analysis Essay -- recognition,

Identity and Violence may seem isolated from each other on a superficial level, but on a deeper analysis both seem to depend on each other. To put in a different way, just as long-stagnant water can give birth to deadly mosquitoes, similarly a logged and rigid definition of identity may lead to violence which could be similar to Aedes. To briefly explain this analogy it’s essential to refer to Charles Taylor who argued that identity is shaped in three ways:- 1) Recognition of identity 2) Absence of identity 3) Misrecognition of identity. All three modes of shaping identity have the potential to bring out violence which is latent. Here, Sigmund Freud’s idea of human instincts being of two kinds: those that conserve and unify and, the instincts to destroy and kill is very significant. These instincts work according to the motive, when individual works for their ‘motive’ that is of shaping the identity leads to use of violent means and ends mostly. Our presentation will include Terrell A. Northup idea of identity as a system of beliefs or a way of construing the world that makes life predictable rather than random. This way, he conceptualizes that social constructs of an identity become so entrenched that the conflict surfaces as violence. The identity first takes the form of threat, which later gets distorted and extremely rigid and ultimately colludes in maintaining the conflict. Thus, it can be said that, identity is central; almost core to individuals and their sense of connectedness to themselves and the society-scope they engage in. Kriesberg examines how there is a formation of not only one's own, but also a sense of identity of the other, which further reinforces the self. Though identities can be both 'ascribed' a... ...llows that the intervention is contingent on the identity dynamics of the groups involved. For instance, peripheral would limit itself to the objective component. Similarly, change in the dynamics of the relationship between parties,will not change the core schema, but alter the nature of the existing relationship between parties. This carries connotations of a relatively enduring change. Changes that occur in the identities of the parties are aimed at reconstructing the core schema, in this case, the perception of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Such would be the case if the Israeli State recognizes the Palestinian State as an equal and de-emphasizes the differences between the two. This level implies a change approximating utopia. The introduction of super ordinate goals establishes a commonality between the groups, forcing them to acknowledge the ‘other’ as more like ‘self’.