Bøger i Studies in Violence, Mimesis, serien

For thousands of years, political leaders have unified communities by aligning them against common enemies. However, today more than ever, the search for "e;common"e; enemies results in anything but unanimity. Scapegoats like Saddam Hussein, for example, led to a stark polarization in the United States. Renowned neuropsychiatrist and psychologist Jean-Michel Oughourlian proposes that the only authentic enemy is the one responsible for both everyday frustrations and global dangers, such as climate change-ourselves. Oughourlian, who pioneered an "e;interdividual"e; psychology with Ren Girard, reveals how all people are bound together in a dynamic, contingent process of imitation, and shows that the same patterns of irrational mimetic desire that bring individuals together and push them apart also explain the behavior of nations.