Violent America

The Dynamics of Identity Politics in a Multiracial Society

By: Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia

Narrated by: Lisa Gibson

In Violent America, Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia counterintuitively analyzes why and how various ethnoracial groups proactively and instrumentally use different forms of violence to achieve their goals. Combining a historical analysis spanning the centuries with an examination of contemporary problems, she considers how and why ethnoracial groups can be both perpetrators and victims of violence, why some minority groups react differently to violence in comparable situations, and what the consequences are today for politics in both America and Europe.

Violent America thus explores the effects of physical and discursive violence on the ways in which ethnoracial groups define themselves. Chebel d'Appollonia argues that the use of ethnoracial violence has been and remains an effective identity strategy by which all ethnoracial groups are able to integrate themselves into the mainstream of American society. She provides an alternative way of understanding the complex relationship between migrant phobia, multiethnic grievances, and intergroup conflicts in America.

The book is published by Cornell University Pressi. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2023 Cornell University (P)2023 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"An important and impressive critical analysis of ethnoracial relations in the United States and their connection to politics and political dynamics." (Martin Schain, author of The Border)

"An excellent analysis of the relationship between racial violence, migrant phobia, multiethnic grievances, and intergroup conflicts." (Michel Wieviorka, author of Violence)