Burton argues that the sources of conflict and violence are, on the one hand, the denial to many of their personal needs for development, social recognition and identity, and, on the other, the social expectation of compliance and the means used to enforce it. Social protest, terrorism, revolution, self-appointed leaderships, ethnic conflicts, industrial strife, street gangs of unemployed youth and even some family violence can be explained within this frame of 'structural violence'. He examines the adversarial institutions of society - leadership, legislatures, the work place, the legal system and the international relations system - and considers what each would be like if designed to solve basic problems rather than to contain them. This provocative and challenging book will be of interest to students, lecturers and practitioners of politics, administration and management, industry, law and law enforcement, education and social work.