Audergon, A. (2005). The war hotel: psychological dynamics in violent conflict. London: Whurr.

Human Nature is the fuel of violent conflict. The War Hotel looks at how we get aroused and how we get silenced into violent conflict. We are pulled apart in the name of justice and loyalty. Past trauma is triggered into a replay. Out of love and longing to step beyond the ordinary world, we sacrifice ourselves and others. Dehumanizing the enemy, disinformation, torture, stirring fear in order to crack down – these terror tactics, too, are based in psychology. The manipulation of psychological dynamics to create violent conflict is distressing. But, if our emotions and behaviour are the fuel, then our awareness can impact world events. There is something truly hopeful here. Awareness makes a difference. Examples draw particularly from the author’s work in the Balkans. Other examples include Nazi Germany, Rwanda, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Communism and its fall in Europe, South Africa, the treatment of Native Americans and African Americans in the USA, Vietnam and the ‘war on terror’.

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