The big idea: Violence is not only physical attacks. Johan Galtung showed it has three types: direct (visible harm), structural (harm built into unfair systems) and cultural (ideas that justify it). The hidden types cause as much suffering as the visible one.
Direct violence is the obvious kind — war, assault, killing. But structural violence kills quietly through poverty, hunger and denied healthcare, and cultural violence is the beliefs that make the other two seem normal.
- Direct violence — visible physical harm: war, assault, killing, torture. Has a clear attacker.
- Structural violence — harm built into unfair systems: poverty, discrimination, denied healthcare — no single attacker, but people still suffer and die.
- Cultural violence — the ideas and beliefs (religion, ideology, propaganda) that make direct and structural violence seem acceptable.
- They connect — cultural violence justifies structural violence, which fuels direct violence.
Violence you cannot see: The key insight is that structural violence — a child dying of a preventable disease because of poverty, a group locked out of jobs and schools — is real violence, even with no attacker. It is built into how society is organised, so it is often ignored, yet it harms far more people than war.
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The most important — and most exam-relevant — type is structural violence, because it is often the root of the direct violence we see.
Case study — structural violence as the root of conflict: When a group is trapped in poverty, denied education, jobs and a political voice, and treated as second-class, it suffers structural violence — harm built into the system, with no single attacker.
How it leads to conflict
- This injustice breeds grievance.
- Grievance can erupt into direct violence — protest, riots or war.
- So many conflicts that look like sudden outbreaks of fighting are really the surfacing of long-standing structural violence.
- This is why some argue structural violence is 'at the root' of conflict.
This links straight to peace: if structural violence causes conflict, then positive peace (removing structural and cultural violence) is what prevents it — not just stopping the fighting. Addressing structural violence is increasingly seen as key to lasting peace.
The key point: Violence has three types: direct (visible), structural (built into unfair systems) and cultural (ideas that justify them). Structural violence is often the hidden root of visible conflict, so tackling it — not just the fighting — is central to lasting, positive peace.
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Is structural violence really the root of all conflict — and can peace be defined as its absence? Recurring debates. Weigh it.
Why structural violence matters so much
Because it is the injustice — poverty, exclusion, discrimination — that generates the grievance behind most conflict, removing structural violence (through development and fair institutions) tackles conflict at its source, not just its symptoms.
Why it is not the root of ALL conflict
Some conflicts are driven more by elite power struggles, greed, identity or ideology than by structural injustice, and grievance does not automatically become violence — so structural violence is a major cause, but not the sole one.
Two perspectives — weigh them: One view: structural violence is the root of conflict, so peace means removing it. Another view: it is one cause among several (power, identity, greed). Strong essays evaluate both, often concluding structural violence is a major and often underlying cause, but not the sole root of all conflict.
How violence comes up in Paper 2: A Paper 2 essay might claim structural violence is at the root of conflict, or that peace is its absence. Use the three types (Galtung), link structural violence to grievance, then judge.
The 15-mark markband (what moves you up)
Bands 1–6
Mostly descriptive; perspectives not identified.
avoid
Bands 7–9
Clear knowledge, but perspectives identified, not explored.
7–9
Bands 10–12
Well-supported argument; perspectives explored.
10–12
Bands 13–15
Balanced, compelling; perspectives explored AND evaluated.
13–15
"Structural violence is at the root of all conflict." Discuss this claim with reference to conflicts you have studied.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Common mistakes: 1. Defining violence as only physical. Include structural and cultural.
2. Not naming Galtung. The three types anchor the answer.
3. Overstating a single cause. Structural violence is major, not the only root.
4. Naming the three kinds of violence. Show how structural violence produces the direct kind.
5. No judgement. Conclude on how far structural violence causes conflict.