This volume is concerned with groups and networks for which physical violence constitutes a substantial part of their existence. The contributions range from antiquity to the 20th century and encompass western, southern, mid- and eastern Europe as well as selected regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, a broad historical spectrum is presented, drawing attention to the diversity and at the same time astonishing comparability of the observed phenomena.

Prof. Dr. Winfried Speitkamp ist Präsident der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.p>