Macht und Gewalt

Hannah Arendt wrote this book, which was first published in 1970, in the face of the Vietnam War and under the influence of worldwide student unrest. In this essay, she shows the boundaries and overlaps between the key political concepts of power and violence. She analyzes the theoretical justifications of violence and the violent actions in Vietnam, in the racial conflicts in the USA, and in student revolts around the world. The old theory of war and violence as the ultima ratio of power was reduced to absurdity – at least in the interstate area – by nuclear weapons. Hannah Arendt sharply and provocatively formulates insights gained from our reality about the functions of power and violence in politics