Social contexts and violence

Abstract

This research aims to demonstrate that certain acts of violence are shaped by the context in which they occur, such that anyone could commit them if the situational conditions are right. It analyzes how social contexts influence the commission of violent acts by individuals acting within group structures and concludes that social contexts and their characteristics exert a marked influence on the commission of these acts through the configuration of a series of psychosocial processes that facilitate them. The study employed a qualitative approach with a classical ethnographic design, using semi-structured interviews, and included the participation of 21 individuals who had belonged to the Salvadoran Armed Forces or the guerrilla movement. The results support the finding that social contexts significantly influenced the nature of the violent acts committed during the Salvadoran civil war by the study participants. Furthermore, they indicate that psychosocial processes influence individuals at different levels when enabling such acts. This demonstrates that the commission of violent acts was primarily a response to the context in which the interviewees were immersed.