Title : "Since I am a Dog, Beware my Fangs": Beyond a 'rational violence' framework in the Sierra Leonean war

Working Paper No : 14 (series 1)

Author(s) : David Keen

Date : August 2002

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Abstract : In his paper, David Keen goes beyond the confines of a ?rational violence? framework and proposes a model that helps to explain the occurrence of widespread violence against civilians during a civil war. In assessing violence induced by military soldiers and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in Sierra Leone, Keen's three-stage model suggests that violence may be a product of human emotions, such as shame, anger and fear. The emotions and views of combatants need to be taken seriously if abuses are to be minimised.