On Violence (Hannah Arendt)

An analysis of the nature, causes, and significance of violence in the second half of the twentieth century. Arendt also reexamines the relationship between war, politics, violence, and power. "Incisive, deeply probing, written with clarity and grace, it provides an ideal framework for understanding the turbulence of our times.
 
"Power, in Arendt's view, grows from consensus, and when that consensus breaks down, violence is the likely result. "We know, or should know, that every decrease of power is an open invitation to violence - if only because those who hold power and feel it slipping from their hands have always found it difficult to resist the temptation of substituting violence for it."
-- Robin Lynam, SCMP
 
Hannah Arendt (1906 – 1975), was a German-American political thinker. Her many books and articles have had a lasting influence on political theory and philosophy. Arendt is widely considered one of the most important political thinkers of the 20th century.