Bloodlines: From Ethnic Pride To Ethnic Terrorism [Paperback]

Vamik Volkan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 27, 1998

In the wake of recent conflicts in Russia and the former Yugoslavia, ethnic terrorism and ethnic cleansing have become household words. Yet we are at a loss to find solutions to such struggles. In Bloodlines, Vamik Volkan, a world-renowned psychiatrist specializing in international relations, explores ethnic violence by examining history and diplomacy through a psycho-analytic 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. Timely, brilliant, and gripping, Bloodlines gives fascinating insights into how personal identity intertwines with nationality, and why hatred of others becomes a part of our sense of self.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (November 27, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813390389
• ISBN-13: 978-0813390383
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you put an "ethnic enterpreneuer" on the couch..., April 24, 2001

By 

J. Rabideau (Stuck in the Loser State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bloodlines: From Ethnic Pride To Ethnic Terrorism (Paperback)

...or better yet, several, you get something mirroring Volkan's work. Trained as a psychoanalyst, Vamik Volkan brings this unique perspective to the analysis of ethnic conflict. Particularly insgihtful is his recounting of his interviews with Abdullah Ocalan, the now-jailed leader of the PKK...Kurdish Workers Party. Volkan's study of ethnic pride, mobilisation, and terrorism and violence examines the problem of ethnic conflict upon a myriad of levels, focusing upon upper-level leadership, mid-level elites (i.e. intelligentsia), and grassroots behaviours.

This is a superb book, written in a wonderfully analytic fashion. Herein, a valuable foundational framework is offered for the understanding of ethnic conflict: relevant for students and scholars of conflict, and also for the person who wishes to attempt to make some sense of ethnic warfare.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Tent, January 2, 2000

By 

C. Hurley (Fort Worth, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bloodlines: From Ethnic Pride To Ethnic Terrorism (Paperback)

Volkan writes a great book that helps those who are interesting in understanding ethnic conflict and violence understand what goes on within those groups that act out with such actions. What I liked about this book was the ego damage theory that he provides for the root of all ethnic conflict. This theory is the tent theory. The group's tent has been damaged, so they come together, rally around a leader or the pole of the tent, and they try to repair the canvas of that tent. This theory has been extremely helpful for me in understanding the conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda, etc. I have applied this theory to many of things. It has been extremely useful.

The book is rich on new vocabulary. This book is a hard read, but it is not impossible. Overall this is an extremely well written and put together book. I would recommend it to others who are interesting in the study of violence.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding Interethnic Violence, July 28, 2007

By 

Frank (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bloodlines: From Ethnic Pride To Ethnic Terrorism (Paperback)

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, foreign relations, history students should read.