Name: How do daily habits lead to political violence?
Uploaded: 2020-09-03T15:34:55Z
Duration: 15 min 4 s
Description: What drives someone to commit politically motivated violence? The unsettling answer lies in daily habits. Behavioral historian Christiane-Marie Abu Sarah shares startling insights into how seemingly mundane choices can breed polarization that lead to extreme, even deadly, actions -- and explains how to identify and bypass these behaviors in order to rediscover common ground.

What drives someone to commit politically motivated violence? The unsettling answer lies in daily habits. Behavioral historian Christiane-Marie Abu Sarah shares startling insights into how seemingly mundane choices can breed polarization that lead to extreme, even deadly, actions -- and explains how to identify and bypass these behaviors in order to rediscover common ground.

How do daily habits lead to political violence?

World historian and conflict resolution specialist

Ordinary routines, from the news people choose to the emotions they dwell on, can gradually push societies toward dangerous us-versus-them thinking. In 1957, two women from the same city and movement faced a violent choice; one walked away after seeing her own humanity in a stranger, while the other followed through after months of isolation and emotional conditioning. Political violence is not inevitable but the outcome of learned habits and social environments. Breaking these cycles means consciously stepping outside information bubbles and seeking common ground.