Violence-Related Forms of Life. the Case of Western Jihadism

The lives of those who practice violence as profession or vocation, i.e. soldiers, militiamen, mercenaries or terrorists, cannot be reduced to acts of violence. They have families and friends; they mostly live everyday lives; and they pursue cultural or other leisure activities. At the same time, however, these lives are not unaffected by the preparation for, participation in and processing of physical violence. They become members of organizations, groups and subcultures that take a hold of their lives; they are comrades and brothers in arms with obligations that reach far into private spheres; they align their family life and social relationships with the necessities of the violent missions; they adopt the languages of violent groups; and they emotionally and physically adapt to the challenges of physical violence. It can be said that forms of organized violence - both state and non-state – come with forms of lives that are built around and related to the conduct of violence: “violence-related forms of life”.

In my contribution, I will develop this concept of "violence-related forms of life" and its biographical relevance. Therefore, I will refer to my biographical research on jihadist careers of young men from Germany. I will show that this concept can be used to address two questions. First, it helps to answer, how participating in forms of organized violence affects people's lives and biographies. Adapting to these forms of life often leads to tense and conflict-ridden biographies. Second, the concept offers new ways of explaining why people participate in forms of organized violence. Beyond a psychological or organizational reductionism, it focuses on the entire lives of violent actors and shows how they are socialized into the practice of violence and its psycho-social conditions.