Killing in the name of: thoughts from Arendt and Fanon about violence applied to a small-scale protest

In this thesis, I will research the different positions that Hannah Arendt and Frantz Fanon have taken regarding the justifiability of violence in different settings. Arendt and Fanon have written about violence as a means to achieve power, such as using violence to overthrow a government. In my thesis, I want to apply their thoughts to a small-scale form of violence, namely violence used by the farmers during the Dutch farmers’ protests that took place in the summer of 2022. My research question will be as follows: In what way can we apply the thoughts from Arendt and Fanon regarding violence to small-scale forms of protest, specifically the Dutch farmers’ protests? I believe that the argument from Hannah Arendt can be fully applied to the farmers’ protests. Regarding Fanon’s argument, I quickly concluded that farmers are not in the same way oppressed as people living in a colony and fighting for independence. Besides this, Fanon argues for a proportionate use of violence, that the...Show moreIn this thesis, I will research the different positions that Hannah Arendt and Frantz Fanon have taken regarding the justifiability of violence in different settings. Arendt and Fanon have written about violence as a means to achieve power, such as using violence to overthrow a government. In my thesis, I want to apply their thoughts to a small-scale form of violence, namely violence used by the farmers during the Dutch farmers’ protests that took place in the summer of 2022. My research question will be as follows: In what way can we apply the thoughts from Arendt and Fanon regarding violence to small-scale forms of protest, specifically the Dutch farmers’ protests? I believe that the argument from Hannah Arendt can be fully applied to the farmers’ protests. Regarding Fanon’s argument, I quickly concluded that farmers are not in the same way oppressed as people living in a colony and fighting for independence. Besides this, Fanon argues for a proportionate use of violence, that the farmers have not always used. When comparing both views of Arendt and Fanon, they have more in common on their stance on violence than is usually assumed, especially in this small-scale setting.Show less

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Killing in the name of: thoughts from Arendt and Fanon about violence applied to a small-scale protest