Pablo Cañete Blanco Jihadism as an expression of violence... 341 Nonetheless, the most distinguishing feature of violence is its disproportionate nature, beyond any type of control (internal or external), and its destructive nature, a kind of overflowing thanatos that, while appearing to have a primitive character, has accompanied humankind throughout its history and evolves together with civilisation as it grows both in complexity and in internal contradictions4.In line with this criterion, we could subscribe to the definition offered by Galtung5, according to which “violence is here defined as the cause of the difference between the potential and the actual, between what could have been and what is” that is, violence gauges the degree of damage avoidance of an act.Violence includes not only tangible facts, but also the threat of the existence of the damage and the structural violence (domination and relationships of meaning that perpetuate a sinister status quo for a section of the population without anyone actually executing a violent act that could also be called social injustice). However, this is not the only definition that violence can be given as its meaning, and social perception can vary (particularly if there is a recognised political backdrop). There is, thus, a political violence – often considered legitimate – that a group of people use to wage war, on ideological and political foundations, against a government that is socially accepted (albeit on a sectarian basis). The main problem that political violence – actually the conflict – brings with it is the degree of acceptability and the possibility of the legitimisation of its participants6. In other words, what distinguishes a terrorist leader from a hero of freedom? The side, the winner, the means used? The concept of violence also has a certain degree of volatility. Despite it being a destructive concept, it does not always have a negative value. In many places, violence is a vehicle for social advancement. It is in these cases where the disproportionate exercise of force runs the risk of the means turning into the purpose. This is why violence, a tool, can reach the category of object and can become a component of identity (and even of politics). Western society has created a metanarrative that not only rejects violence as a form of social interaction, but also softens and conceals all of its aspects. The process was perhaps particularly significant with the transformation of children’s stories from including violent elements to being love stories, thereby removing most of their original pedagogical content. Thedisneyfication that replaced the prince’s rape of 4 AZNAR FERNÁNDEZ-MONTESINOS, Federico. «Reflexiones sobre el empleo de la violencia.» (Analysis Document) Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos, 10 September 2013, http://www.ieee.es/ Galerias/fichero/docs_analisis/2013/DIEEEA47-2013_ReflexionesViolencia_FAFM.pdf (last consulted 20.03.2017). 5 GALTUNG, Johan. «Violence, Peace, and Peace Research.» Journal of Peace Research, 1969: 167- 191. 6 COHAN, John Alan. «Necessity Political Violence and Terrorism». Stetson Law Review, 2006: 903-981. http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee
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