Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #742945 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-26
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.com
A psychoanalyst at the University of Virginia, Vamik Volkan tries to apply the wisdom of his profession to the problem of international conflict resolution. He offers a new vocabulary that illuminates concepts such as nationalism and ethnic pride in helpful ways, and is always careful to connect his theories to lessons from the real world. And as a native of the strife-torn island of Cyprus, Volkan knows his subject intimately. Blood Lines lacks an overarching thesis, but it also rewards readers with details and observations not to be found elsewhere. Those who enjoyed Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order or Robert Kaplan's Ends of the Earth will appreciate Blood Lines.

Card catalog description
In Bloodlines, Vamik Volkan, a world-renowned psychiatrist specializing in international relations, explores ethnic violence by examining history and diplomacy through a psychoanalytic lens. Dr. Volkan leads the reader on investigative tours of battlegrounds in the Middle East, Russia, Turkey, Cyprus, the Baltics, and the Balkans. In Serbia, he discovers that the Battle of Kosovo, fought in 1389, is the rallying cry for modern nationalists, who view the past as prophecy. In Turkey, PKK terrorist leader Apo reveals that he still considers himself an unloved child and orders his army of Kurdish women to remain virgins because of his own disgust with "unclean" adult behavior. In Latvia, after the dissolution of the USSR, Dr. Volkan learns that ethnic Latvians plan to disinter corpses and segregate cemeteries in an attempt to establish a national identity separate from that of Russia. Drawing on a variety of disciplines, Dr. Volkan analyzes these issues of identity formation, perceived versus real threats, the persistence of past traumas, and the desire for revenge. The result is a work that lays the foundation for understanding the differences between ethnic groups as well as the common ground they share.

About the Author
Born to a Turkish family on Cyprus, Vamik Volkan is a professor of psychiatry and is the founder of the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction at the University of Virginia. He is the author of many books, including Life After Loss and The Immortal Ataturk. He lives in McLean, Virginia.

Customer Reviews

Understanding Interethnic Violence
If a reader wants to know why Rwanda, Bosnia and others conflicts happened - and still will continue to happen -, this is the book. In this book Volkan simply give us a thorough understanding related to massive agression. A book that mainly but not limited to, political psychology, psychodynamic theory, social psychology, sociology, political science, foreing relations, history students should read.

Bloodlines
Blood Lines, From Ethic Pride to Ethnic Terrorism was written by Vamic Volkan, founder of the Center for the Study of Mind and Interaction. His group, including former diplomats, historians, and psychoanalysts, has been employed by administrations such as the Soviet government to solve ethnic conflicts and study relations between ethnic people. The author uses his experience as a psychoanalyst in crisis situations in providing comprehensive options for conflict resolution

This book addresses questions such as "why are they compelled to take revenge for the wrongs inflicted on their ancestors or others belonging to their bloodline?" Written in a well organized fashion, the start of a new chapter reveals a new situation of ethnic conflict in areas such as Estonia, Romania, and Cyprus. In examining each ethnic group the author not only speaks of the present but gives a concise history of that group making it possible to understand what is meant Conflict not only includes tensions between two ethnic groups but the removal of bodies from a cemetery used by both ethnic groups, visits to a Palestinian orphanage and more. With that, the author provides theories and analogies to explain the people's reactions. One example of an analogy is the equation of an ethnic group to a tent. The tent represents the identity of that ethnic group. This identity consists of a complete history of what that ethnic group has been through such as victories and defeats in wars, atrocities done to them, and even includes myths that people have about them. The tent is held up by poles, the poles representing the leader of that group. Depending on the shape of the tent, those inside may "rally around the pole" being indifferent to whether the leader has a positive or negative effect upon the group. Such are the examples the author gives.

"Bloodlines" offers a different perspective on ethnic conflict solving than most books propose. A psychological perspective is innovative and the author does a good job explaining what it means giving many examples and using analogies. For those who are skeptical on this type of perspective and who wonder how a psychological perspective, usually addressing one or at most a few people, can serve to address a whole ethnic group, the author does well in explaining how certain aspects such as myths and fears can apply to every ethnic group while other aspects can only apply to ethnic groups that have been through a particular event such as genocides for example. Also, the fact that he gives numerous concrete examples in such an array of situations shows that his theory is a credible one.

Although not necessary, it would have been nice if the author had explained why his theory is more valuable than other theories that have already been offered in the past. It would also have been nice if he had proposed solutions for future conflict solving.

This is a well written book that can be read by any individual whether for study or enjoyment. It gives a sufficiently detailed background of each conflict for one to understand how their current identity has been formed and how an ethnic group could feel resentment for another even hundreds of years after a certain act of injustice has passed while showing what needs to be done for positive developments in the relation to occur.

Diagnosis: Ethnicity, identity, violence and terror
"Bloodlines" provides riveting description and analysis of the psychology of ethnic conflict and its driving forces of psychology of identity, cleanliness, and trauma. The manipulation by leaders has driven much of the history of both ethnic and international violence. Ironies of pride and order coupled with hate belie extreme simplification. The example of disinterring corpses to segregate cemeteries reminds one of the Crusades against the Cathar heresy when bones were disinterred to be burned to powder.

Volkan's constructive interest is conflict resolution and gaining something approaching civility between enemies as in Latvia and Cyprus in particular. The detailed human examples and insights add to the story. Yet the difficulty provides less than complete optimism.

Leaders, intelligentsia, and masses are mobilized to reconstruct an often myth based identity when crisis or attack challenges - often leading to revenge and violence.

There is not something so vague and general as a "clash of civilizations' operating (and identity conflict and vicious violence within civilizations is often every bit as brutal) so much as a driving force of narrower identity and trauma with more specific enemies. These forces can be easily manipulated by opportunistic or hateful politicians. Historical amnesia, denial, and failure to sufficiently study and understand these issues merely increase their virulence and incidence.


Volkan's "Blind Trust" also rewards study. It is probably of value to an even larger range of readers interested in history, social psychology and politics.