The Culture of Violence

Rethinking the Roots of Violence in Human Evolution and Society

Why do humans commit violence—individually or collectively—even in times of abundance or high cognitive development? Traditional explanations cite resource scarcity, social fragmentation, charismatic leaders, cultural norms, or technological capacity. But a deeper, unifying principle lies beneath: the demand for recognition. This essay argues that violence, from spontaneous aggression to state-level warfare, is fundamentally a product of the brain’s recognition circuits, and all other risk factors act only by modulating this demand.

Neural Foundations: Recognition as Evolution’s Currency

The human brain is not merely a computational organ but a deeply social one. Its neural architecture is optimized for predicting outcomes, forming complex associations, and—critically—navigating the ever-shifting landscape of social recognition. In evolutionary terms, recognition means survival: those acknowledged as valuable are included, protected, and granted resources. Those ignored or shamed face exclusion and deprivation.

Neural entities—individual neurons and their vast web of associations—enable advanced social prediction, empathy, and impulse control. As the complexity of these networks increases, so does the brain’s capacity to inhibit violence: alternative strategies, negotiation, and moral reasoning come online. But this inhibitory effect is not absolute. The “switch” for violence is ultimately regulated by the demand for recognition. When recognition is threatened or denied, neural inhibition is overridden and violence becomes a tool for restoring perceived status or dignity.

The Recognition Loop: A Universal Mechanism

Recognition operates as a feedback loop:

Perceived Threat to Recognition: Social exclusion, insult, humiliation, or the prospect of lost status activates threat circuits in the brain.
Heightened Demand: The emotional pain of lost recognition creates an urgent need for restoration—sometimes at any cost.
Violence as a Restoration Tool: If violence is culturally or contextually associated with restoring recognition—through victory, revenge, or deterrence—the neural threshold for aggression lowers.
Social Feedback: If the violent act succeeds in regaining status or respect, neural circuits reinforcing violence are strengthened, both individually and culturally.

This loop is self-reinforcing: every act of violence that yields recognition (honor, respect, fear) increases the probability of future violence as an accepted strategy.

Reframing Traditional Risk Factors

Common risk factors for violence—resource scarcity, social fragmentation, leadership manipulation, technological escalation, cultural norms, and institutional weakness—are traditionally seen as independent drivers. A recognition-centric view, however, reveals that all these variables influence violence only by altering the demand for recognition.

Resource Scarcity: Scarcity threatens recognition (“Am I still worthy? Do I belong?”). Violence is used to reclaim or defend status within the group.
Social Fragmentation: When social bonds weaken, mutual recognition collapses, leaving individuals desperate for affirmation and more willing to use violence to achieve it.
Leadership Manipulation: Charismatic leaders and propaganda amplify collective recognition demand, often scapegoating outgroups or inventing existential threats that must be violently opposed.
Technological Capacity: New means of violence are adopted not for their own sake, but because they promise greater recognition—superiority, deterrence, or historic destiny.
Cultural Norms: Norms define the behaviors and achievements that earn recognition; cultures that valorize martial prowess or vengeance channel recognition demand into violence.
Institutional Weakness: Law and justice are systems for distributing recognition. When institutions fail, violence becomes a parallel system for negotiating status.

A New Equation for Violence

The risk of violence (V) is a function of the effective demand for recognition (Reff), divided by the brain’s capacity for inhibition (N, neural complexity):

All contextual or “external” factors—scarcity, propaganda, fragmentation, technology—modify Reff, either heightening or dampening the collective craving for recognition. Thus, violence is never simply the outcome of need or opportunity, but the probabilistic output of the recognition loop under social, cultural, and technological modulation.

Implications and Applications

Rethinking Prevention

Efforts to prevent violence must move beyond resource provision or policing alone. True prevention lies in redesigning recognition systems:

Elevating prosocial, cooperative, and creative behaviors as sources of status.
Dismantling narratives that equate violence with honor, strength, or legitimacy.
Promoting social structures that ensure broad, mutual recognition and dignity.

Understanding Collective Violence

Mass violence and war are not aberrations of “evil” or “madness” but the predictable result of amplified recognition demand at scale—especially when societies are manipulated to believe that their recognition, survival, or dignity are at existential risk.

The Limits of Neural Complexity

Education and cognitive development (increasing N) greatly reduce violence risk. But when collective recognition is sufficiently threatened or manipulated, even highly complex brains and societies can become agents of organized violence.

Case Study – The Ukraine War

Recognition Loops, Leadership, and the Culture of Violence

The ongoing Ukraine war, ignited by Russia’s invasion in 2022, serves as a contemporary and highly illustrative example of the recognition-centric theory of violence. At its core, the conflict demonstrates how the demand for recognition, amplified by state leadership and propaganda, can override the moderating effects of high neural complexity, education, and economic interdependence. The war’s persistence and brutality are not anomalies but the logical output of recognition loops operating at both individual and societal levels.

Nga

Under Vladimir Putin’s rule, Russia’s strategic and psychological posture has been dominated by narratives of lost greatness, humiliation at the hands of the West, and the existential need to reclaim recognition as a global power. Putin, as both a political leader and a symbolic figure, has repeatedly invoked the trauma of the Soviet collapse, NATO expansion, and perceived Western disrespect. Through sustained propaganda campaigns, state-controlled media, and direct messaging, Putin amplifies the collective demand for recognition within Russian society, creating a climate in which violence is reframed as both necessary and heroic.

Numerical Example (Russia):

Base recognition demand (R): 7 (high, rooted in national humiliation and historical grievances)
Amplification (A): 4 (very strong, due to leadership-driven propaganda, censorship, and ideological mobilization)
Effective recognition demand (Rsoc = R×A): 28

Despite Russia’s relatively high average neural complexity (N), reflecting its educational level and technological sophistication (N=8), the effective risk of violence (V) is:

This high risk manifests in aggressive foreign policy, readiness for large-scale war, and widespread public acceptance—or at least acquiescence—to violence as a tool of recognition reclamation.

Ukraine

For Ukraine, the invasion is experienced as a direct assault on national identity, sovereignty, and collective dignity. Volodymyr Zelensky’s leadership has channeled this existential recognition demand into unprecedented social mobilization and global outreach. His communication strategy frames Ukrainian resistance as a “war for recognition”—not just physical survival, but the right to be seen and acknowledged as a sovereign nation by the world.

Numerical Example (Ukraine):

Base recognition demand (R): 9 (existential threat, total mobilization for sovereignty and dignity)
Amplification (A): 3.5 (high, through national unity campaigns, global advocacy, and direct appeals)
Effective recognition demand (Rsoc): 31.5
Neural complexity (N): 8 (high, urbanized, educated society)

Ukraine’s high neural complexity would, in ordinary times, predict low risk of internal violence; but the existentially amplified recognition demand makes massive, sustained resistance and acceptance of hardship not only possible but socially necessary.

Recognition Logic in U.S. and International Leadership

While less directly involved, U.S. leadership—particularly under Donald Trump—has also operated within a recognition framework. Trump’s approach to foreign policy emphasized transactional respect, competitive status, and symbolic strength. Although the U.S. does not experience existential recognition demand over Ukraine, its recognition logic shapes the level and style of support, and influences how both Russian and Ukrainian narratives are received and interpreted.

Numerical Example (USA, Trump era):

Base recognition demand (R): 6 (global prestige, leadership, “America First”)
Amplification (A): 2.5 (rhetoric, strongman posture)
Effective recognition demand (Rsoc): 15
Neural complexity (N): 9 (high institutional complexity, stable society)

This lower value reflects the lack of existential threat but highlights how even in non-belligerent states, recognition logic shapes foreign policy and the willingness to engage or escalate.

Synthesis: Leaders as Recognition Amplifiers

The Ukraine war’s persistence and escalation are best understood not as failures of diplomacy, economic rationality, or modernity, but as the result of leaders acting as recognition amplifiers. Putin, Zelensky, and even external actors like Trump deploy narratives, symbols, and policies that multiply their populations’ effective recognition demand. Propaganda, existential threat rhetoric, and appeals to historical grievances or national destiny all serve to bypass the ordinary inhibitions provided by high neural complexity and social development.

Key Model Dynamics:

High neural complexity (N) is cần thiết but not sufficient for peace.
When effective recognition demand (Rsoc) is dramatically amplified by leaders and cultural narratives, societies can and do engage in large-scale violence regardless of education, technology, or economic interdependence.

Implications and Lessons

This recognition-centric model explains why:

Economic sanctions, rational argument, and appeals to international law have limited deterrent effect when collective recognition demand is at its peak.
The path to de-escalation must involve not just material compromise, but credible restoration or reconfiguration of recognition—for both sides.
Long-term peace requires systemic transformation of recognition systems—through new narratives, security guarantees, and inclusive structures of dignity—not merely the removal of weapons or resources.

Conclusion

The Ukraine war offers a vivid, real-time demonstration of the culture of violence as a product of amplified recognition demand. Leaders act as powerful switches and amplifiers within recognition loops, channeling personal and collective anxieties into violent action even in the most cognitively advanced societies. Breaking this cycle demands not only strategic and diplomatic skill, but a sophisticated understanding of the neuropsychological roots of recognition and the cultural scripts through which violence is justified and perpetuated.

Case Study – War Between Europe and Russia

The risk of direct, large-scale war between Europe and Russia is a major concern in contemporary geopolitics. While analysts typically examine military capabilities, economic interdependence, and alliance structures, the recognition-centric model reveals a deeper layer: how collective and leadership-driven recognition demand, shaped by history and identity, may override the stabilizing effects of rational calculation and social complexity.

Model Setup: Defining Key Parameters

Variables for Each Bloc

Recognition Demand (R): Perceived need for dignity, status, or existential validation—individually and collectively.
Amplification (A): Extent to which leaders, media, and institutions heighten or focus recognition demand (via propaganda, identity narratives, crisis framing).
Neural Complexity (N): Average cognitive sophistication, education, and the capacity for inhibitory reasoning within society.
Violence Risk (V): Predicted risk of large-scale war, calculated as
k: Proportionality constant (assume k=1 for comparison).

The model for violence risk is:

2. Assigning Example Values

A. Russia

Recognition Demand (R): 7 (Driven by post-Soviet status loss, NATO expansion, need for security and respect)
Amplification (A): 3.5 (Strong propaganda, nationalistic leadership, “Russian world” ideology)
Neural Complexity (N): 8 (High, due to education and technological capability)

Calculate effective recognition demand:

Calculate violence risk:

What Does 3.06 Represent?

Comparative Risk:
The number 3.06 là not an absolute probability (like “30% chance of war”) but a relative risk score that lets you compare different countries, groups, or historical periods within this model.
- A higher score means a higher risk that the society or bloc will engage in large-scale, organized violence or war, because demand for recognition overwhelms the capacity for inhibition and peaceful alternatives.
- For context, Europe in the same model scored 0.8, meaning Russia’s risk is nearly four times higher in this scenario.
Interpretation:
- A score above 2.0–3.0 suggests a high probability that violence will be considered a legitimate, socially reinforced tool for regaining or asserting recognition—despite high education or modern institutions.
- It means the recognition loop is dominant: propaganda, leadership, and historical narratives have amplified recognition demand to the point where rational restraint is less effective.
Use in Decision Making:
Policymakers, analysts, or peacebuilders can use the score to:
- Track changes in violence risk over time (if R or A increases/decreases),
- Compare which societies are nearing critical recognition thresholds,
- Anticipate where escalation is likely, even if conventional (material, military) factors suggest stability.

The violence risk score of 3.06 for Russia means that, according to the recognition-centric model, Russia is currently at a relatively high risk for engaging in war or large-scale violence, because its demand for recognition (driven by leadership and cultural narratives) significantly exceeds the moderating effect of its cognitive and institutional development. This score is best used in comparison to other scores or to monitor change—higher values signal more urgent need for interventions that de-escalate recognition demand.

B. Europe (EU/NATO)

Recognition Demand (R): 4 (Pride in liberal values, defense of sovereignty, some anxiety about global status; but lower existential threat compared to Russia)
Amplification (A): 1.8 (Democratic institutions, diverse media, but some polarization and crisis rhetoric)
Neural Complexity (N): 9 (Very high—strong education, pluralism, institutional trust)

Calculate effective recognition demand:

Calculate violence risk:

What Does 0.8 Represent?

Comparative Risk:
The value 0.8 is a relative, dimensionless score—not a probability, but a way to compare the risk of Europe engaging in large-scale violence or war relative to other societies or itself at different times.
- Nó là much lower than Russia’s score (3.06), indicating a significantly lower risk of Europe initiating or escalating to major violent conflict under current conditions.
Interpretation:
- A score below 1.0 suggests that Europe’s neural complexity and institutional/cultural sophistication provide strong inhibitory forces against war or mass violence, even in the presence of some recognition demand or political tension.
- Europe’s recognition narratives (democracy, rule of law, pluralism) tend to diffuse and moderate demands for recognition, preventing their amplification into violence.
- High neural complexity means European societies typically use negotiation, legal channels, and coalition-building rather than violence to address threats to recognition.
Context:
- Europe’s risk is not zero: a score above 0 still means there is some baseline potential for violence, especially if recognition demand or its amplification were to rise sharply (e.g., due to political crisis, populist leadership, or external shocks).
- This low score reflects the current balance of moderate recognition needs and robust, peace-promoting institutions.

A violence risk score of 0.8 for Europe means that, within the recognition-centric model, Europe currently faces a low risk of engaging in large-scale violence or war.
This is because its effective demand for recognition is modest and, more importantly, its neural and institutional complexity strongly inhibit violent escalation. The model suggests that Europe’s stability is maintained as long as recognition demand and its amplification remain low—if either increases, so will the risk.

3. Analysis of Leadership, Narratives, and Triggers

Nga

Leadership (Putin) continues to drive a narrative of existential confrontation, humiliation by the West, and the historic right to a sphere of influence.
State-controlled media amplifies recognition demand, portraying the West as a threat to Russian dignity and security.

Europe

EU and NATO leaders emphasize rule-based order, shared values, and solidarity with threatened states.
Media and institutions, while free, sometimes amplify recognition demand through crisis narratives (e.g., “Russian threat,” “defense of Europe”).
Diverse public opinion and strong institutions moderate the amplification, keeping AAA lower than in Russia.

Possible Triggers for Amplification

Escalation scenarios: Russian leadership uses a new perceived slight, military defeat, or internal instability to justify an even higher A.
European polarization: Populist leaders, terrorist attacks, or economic shocks might drive up RRR and A, especially if European identity is reframed as “under siege.”

4. Numeric Prediction and Scenario Analysis

Bloc	R (Base)	A (Amplifi)	R_soc	N (Complex)	V (Risk)	Notes
Nga	7	3.5	24.5	8	3.06	High base & amplification
Europe	4	1.8	7.2	9	0.8	Low risk unless amplification rises

Interpretation:

Current risk of direct war is much higher in Russia than Europe due to higher recognition demand and stronger amplification by leadership and media.
Europe’s inhibitory capacity (N) and moderate amplification (A) keep violence risk low—provided the recognition narrative is not dramatically escalated.
Critical threshold: If Europe’s recognition demand and amplification are significantly increased (through major provocations, leadership changes, or mass trauma), the risk could rise rapidly.

Practical Implications and Predictions

Sustained peace is most likely when Europe maintains a low recognition amplification—resisting the urge for escalation, humiliation, or zero-sum framing.
War risk will spike if Russian leadership further amplifies existential recognition narratives or if Europe, through its own political or media channels, reciprocates with similar narratives.
De-escalation strategies must focus on:
- Providing credible recognition to Russian society (not humiliation),
- Maintaining open channels for symbolic as well as material dialogue,
- Avoiding actions or rhetoric that could amplify recognition demand on either side.

Conclusion

The risk of war between Europe and Russia, when seen through the recognition-centric culture of violence model, is not fixed by geography or armament, but is dynamic—determined by the relative intensity and amplification of recognition demand, versus the neural and institutional complexity that restrains violence.
Monitoring political rhetoric, leadership strategy, and media narratives offers as much predictive power for war risk as tracking tanks and missiles.
Peace is best preserved by containing the recognition loop—not just by force, but by consciously shaping the stories and structures through which dignity, identity, and status are negotiated.