Discuss David Nice's theory of violence and abortion clinic bombings

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• David Nice attempts to build a theory of violence by examining trends in abortion clinic bombings; he notes that the literature reveals several explanations for violent political behavior.
• One theory suggests that social controls break down under stress and urbanization.
• Another theory says that violence increases when people are not satisfied with political outcomes.
• Violence can also be reinforced by social and cultural values.
• Finally, violence can stem from a group's strength or weakness, its lack of faith in the political system, or its frustration with economic conditions.
• Nice matches trends in abortion clinic bombings against these theories of violence and found that abortion clinic bombings are related to several social factors.
• Most of the bombings occurred in areas of rapidly expanding population and declining social controls meaning that bombings tended to occur in urban areas.
• The slowest-growing states in the United States did not experience bombings, whereas half of the fastest-growing states did.
• Bombings also reflected a method of communicating frustration with political processes and outcomes.
• Bombing is a means of taking direct action; abortion bombers believe they are making a positive impact on the political situation.
• States that experience bombings also exhibit a greater tolerance for crimes against women.
• Bombings are also a sign of weakness. When potential bombers feel outnumbered, however, they may take action because they feel weak.
• Nice found that abortion clinic bombings were positively correlated with every theory of violence, except the theory of economic deprivation.