This edited collection examines the violence experienced by non-combatants during the civil wars which took place in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. The determinants of violence in civil wars are highly complex and variable. By focusing on both the victims and perpetrators of violence in eight European countries, including Russia, Ireland, France and Spain, the book explores what happened when differing groups within a polity clashed, and in which ways internal conflicts manifested themselves and permeated societies. Divided into two parts, the chapters firstly identify and analyse how rearguard violence was produced and exercised during the European civil wars, and secondly, they examine the violence perpetrated by, and against, women. Shedding light on the violence that was inflicted upon European civilians in the early- to mid-twentieth century, this book presents insights for historians of Europe, political scientists, and international relations scholars alike.
"An ambitious account of the nature of violence in civil wars, paying attention to regional variation and gender - a 'must read' for anyone interested in how ordinary people negotiate violence."
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Joanna Bourke
, Professor Emerita of History, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
"This book of essays is about the multiple ways international war bled into civil war in the period 1914-50. Both forms of armed conflict bred a pathological condition with us still. The targeting of civilians became not just collateral damage, but a tool to destroy or cow a people into submission. A tract for the times, with disturbing echoes of today's violent world."
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Jay Winter
, Charles J. Stille Professor of History Emeritus, Yale University, USA
This book examines the violence experienced by noncombatants during the civil wars in a number of countries, such as Russia, Finland, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Yugoslavia in the first half of the 20th century. By studying both the victims and perpetrators of violence, it aims at exploring what happens when differing groups within a polity comes to blows and in which ways internal conflicts manifest themselves and permeate societies. The determinants of violence in civil wars are highly complex with a large variation in levels, types, and practices. Identifying and analysing the ways violence is produced and exercised in the rear guard is fundamental to understanding the European civil wars as a whole. In the first part, the authors of the volume seek to unravel the complexities and patters of rearguard violence, while in the second part they focus on the violence perpetrated on and by women in civil wars.
Francisco J. Leira-Castiñeira
is Ramon y Cajal fellow at Instituto de Política y Gobernanza of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain.
John Sakkas
is Professor of Modern History in the University of the Aegean, Greece.
