enmity
The term enmity (etymologically derived from the Old High German fiant, vint - hatred) describes a social relationship between two or more individuals or groups that is characterized by the existence of enemy images . The actors involved are called enemies . The enmity can arise due to a competitive situation , an asymmetrical relationship or a relationship history tainted with negative emotions. In contrast to normal opponents , an enemy is also fought with unfair means.
The concept of enmity can only be applied to the animal kingdom to a limited extent . The relationship between lions and hyenas, between rival males of a species, and between prey animals and their predators can, however, show certain characteristics of human hostility.
Types of enmities
- In preparation for a war , the entire armed forces of the enemy or even his people themselves are classified as the enemy. This declares the opponent to be nonhuman, inhuman, whose destruction is a good deed. Example: We must attack and destroy the enemy.
- After all, to be an enemy also means to be an opponent of something, even a fighter against something or to boycott something. This becomes clear in sentences like: he is an enemy of alcohol or she is an enemy of any kind of tutelage .
- In a figurative sense, "enemy" denotes a natural phenomenon that is perceived as a threat ( this disease / epidemic is the greatest enemy of mankind ).
For decades, the so-called Franco-German hereditary enmity was the subject of instruction in German schools. The current situation, which was initiated by Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle , shows that reconciliation between peoples is quite possible.
Hostile relationship
Enemies are enemies , but not all enemies are enemies, it depends on the nature of the relationship.
Because enmity is a conflict-ridden relationship between two parties (individuals, groups, states), it only comes about when they have something to do with each other. For this reason, neighbors are very often enemies. Sometimes former friends become enemies or vice versa. Even with hostile relationships, there are rules that are usually followed.
If normal communication is not possible due to the hostile relationship, mediators or mediators can often be used to improve the situation.
Hostility is mostly based on conflicts due to insufficient information (loss of trust, fear of attack, prejudice ), scarcity of resources (economic and existential fears), problematic psychological relationships, property relationships.
Enemies often protect each other against attacks by third parties (a more dangerous enemy) and at least temporarily put hostile relationships in the background.
Hostile relationships can be in the interests of third parties, who then try to ensure that it stays that way.
The "enemy" category
The friend / foe scheme was considered intensely by Carl Schmitt (cf. ders., The concept of the political , “The specific distinction to which political actions can be traced is the distinction between friend and foe.”). For him it was the basis of political order. The “enemy” category is unpopular in democratic constitutional states, and not just because of Carl Schmitt's proximity to Nazi ideas and politics. Democratic political systems function according to the government / opposition scheme (according to Niklas Luhmann , Die Politik der Gesellschaft ). They depend on the opposition, too, potentially capable of governing or forming a coalition, i.e. only to be viewed as an opponent for a limited time or for a limited period of time.
The “enemy” category, on the other hand, has a fundamental, permanent meaning that is difficult to reconcile with the idea of a democratic constitutional state: the enemy can only be fought, not convinced. In view of the Islamist terror (with reference to the bombings on July 7, 2005 in the London Underground and the murder of Theo van Gogh on November 2, 2004 in Amsterdam), a rehabilitation of Carl Schmitt's “enemy” category has recently been sued. Leon de Winter (Wake up, we are at war) and Jaffe Vink (We have forgotten how to recognize our enemies), both citing Civilization and its Enemies by Lee Harris , believe that democratic states under the rule of law are inadequately equipped to face Islamic terrorism, because, within the framework of their rules, they are not in a position to fundamentally grasp the threat posed by Islamist terror (as total, not time-, group- or topic-specific; as spectacular, not targeted) and to react to it.
The question of whether one is still able to formulate the category “enemy” in a democratic constitutional state has been resolved with the beginning of the war on terror . In view of the friend / foe rhetoric of George W. Bush's war on terrorism (for example his speech about the “ rogue states ” in the National Security Strategy of September 17, 2002) or the disqualification of the failing military support “old Europe " by his defense minister Donald Rumsfeld , however, it is not clear how the political instrumentalization of the category and its abuse can be avoided.
Disputes
A special case of enmity is the highly ambiguous relationship between two siblings, friends or sexual partners. The social psychology knows for a long time existing, close social relationships between two people who chronically conflictual are. A classic literary example is the couple George and Martha in Edward Albee's drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962). The scientific literature deals in particular with dysfunctional family relationship patterns (disputes between parents) and their effects on the child's well-being . However, disputes also occur in other personal relationships, for example between siblings (“ sibling rivalry ”) or as “hate friendship” between unrelated people.
As a long-term study by researchers at the University of Michigan published in 2010 showed, frequent arguing alone does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about whether a couple will stay together for a long time or will soon separate. However, the study also showed that couples who approach controversial issues calmly, do not allow themselves to be overwhelmed by feelings and communicate constructively, stay together longer than those who are all too spontaneous and thus potentially destructive in their expressions of anger or hurt.
See also
literature
- Medardus Brehl, Kristin Platt (ed.): Enmity . 1st edition. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7705-3690-8 (280 pages).
- Wilhelm Schmid : On the benefit of enmity . 1st edition. Insel Verlag, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-458-20509-8 (111 pages).
- Christian Geulen , Anne von der Heiden , Burkhard Liebsch (ed.): From the sense of enmity . 1st edition. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-05-003761-X .
- Günther Schlee : The social construction of enmity . In: Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology Working Papers . No. 5 , 2000, ISSN 1615-4568 , urn : nbn: de: gbv: 3: 2-60573 (13 p., Uni-halle.de [PDF; 119 kB ; accessed on May 26, 2019]).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Leon de Winter: Wake up, we are at war! . Cicero Online. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- ↑ Jaffe Vink: We have forgotten how to recognize our enemies . THE WORLD. Jaffe Vink. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- ↑ National Security Strategy Report - September 2002 ( English ) GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- ^ Tonia Cancrini: Children in Analysis. Early fear and deep bonds . In: child analysis . tape 23 , no. 4 . Klett-Cotta, 2015, p. 295-307 ( abstract ). Martin Baierl: The challenge of everyday life: Practical manual for educational work with mentally disturbed young people . 5th edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2017, ISBN 978-3-647-49166-0 , p. 429 ( limited preview in Google Book search). Judit Barth-Richtarz: Joint parenthood after the divorce: Effects of joint and sole custody for the developmental conditions of the children . Springer, 2012, ISBN 978-3-531-19335-9 , pp. 25 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Kira S. Birditt, Edna Brown, Terri L. Orbuch, Jessica M. McIlvane: Marital Conflict Behavoirs and Implications for Divorce over 16 Years . In: Journal of Marriage and Family . tape 10 , no. 5 , 2010, p. 1188-1204 , PMC 3777640 (free full text). Marital Fighting Style: University Of Michigan Study Predicts Divorce Based On How Couples Argue. In: Huffington Post. February 24, 2011, accessed on March 26, 2018 (interview with Kira Birditt, one of the authors of the study).