Explaining the Role of Morality and Violence in the Process of Defining Political Communities

The events of the so-called “Arab Spring” and the war in Eastern Ukraine are important facts that show us that violence continues to be used on a large scale in our times in order to obtain political goals. Following these facts, the paper questions the role of violence justified in moral terms by different groups as this is the case in both the above mentioned situations. Starting from the hypothesis that the there is an ideal Good that is searched for by all different groups that see themselves as political communities and that also have political claims, we will look at the way in which these groups argue in moral terms that they can use violence against those that are seen as outsiders and not part of their political community. Thus, we are interested in identifying and explaining how the moral claims have an impact on the violent methods used and spread by these political communities.