Seven Essays on Violence in Peru

In two years, three editions of this work have appeared: the first contained the hypotheses, presented in essay form, of a study on violence; the second included, in addition to the hypotheses described in the "Seven Essays," the results of their critical discussion at a National Seminar. The present edition is a reprint of the second, long out of print and sought after by the public, which tells us how in recent years and months Peru has experienced troubling manifestations of social discontent, not only with the country's reality but with its institutional framework. Expressions of discontent are becoming increasingly violent. No exhaustive analysis of present-day Peru is needed to conclude that one of the most characteristic features of Peruvian society is violence in almost every sphere of life — a type of violence that Galtung characterized as personal violence — face-to-face violence — to distinguish it from permanent or structural violence, arising from the existence of unjust socioeconomic and political structures. (Excerpt from the presentation).