It was only three decades ago that the world witnessed measurable success in the creation of both a political culture and political mechanisms that brought about a peaceful dismantling of military dictators and oppressive regime. So, how is it that the original sin of politics, namely the use of force and violence, seems to be enjoying a spectacular rebound? How to read the newly bourgeoning sources, forms, and targets of violence? To what extent are all of these transforming the world as we know it ? Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is only the most egregious example, and for us in Wroclaw comes closest to home. While exploring classical propositions concerning the role of violence in bringing about social and political change – from Marx, through Weber, Lenin, Gramsci, Arendt, and Benjamin, to more recent thinkers such as Foucault, Derrida, Butler, Zizek, and Michnik – we will look at different types of political violence and its specific instances, and revisit Arendt’s well-known distinction between the justifiability and the legitimacy of violence. Conscious of the traditional forms of political violence – wars, revolutions, and armed-struggle movements – we will pay attention to the forms and consequences of structural violence, and examine the forms of cultural and symbolic violence that routinely serve to legitimize violence. Using historical, but also hermeneutical and phenomenological approaches, we will explore ideas, practices, and events generated in different parts of the world, with an emphasis on Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Southern Africa. This course is part of the 2023 Democracy & Diversity Summer Graduate Institute to be held in Wroclaw, Poland, July 5th-20th, 2023. Students interested in participating in the Institute MUST submit an application by March 27th, 2023. Please find more info on the TCDS website: https://blogs.newschool.edu/tcds/30th-democracy-diversity-graduate-summer-institute/.