Abstract

The German word ‚Gewalt’ is an ambiguous concept, meaning power, strength, as well as violence. This amiguity is not accidental, because ‚Gewalt’ in the sense of power means a latent, concentrated possibility to make use of violence whenever and whereever it seems necessary for its maintainance and increase: potestas is potentia violandi . The development of civilization and modern states can thus be conceived as the result of a domestication of violence, insofar as the order of civil rights intends to avoid any arbitrary use of violence. But the culture of ‚Gewalt’, seen as its domination and concentration, can, in combination with additional factors, lead to structural violence, to forms of violation of legitimate claims and interests of human beeings, so that potentials of counter-violence can be generated. The paper tries to analyze actual developments within this field of tensions