بازتولید مثلث خشونت در داستان «المسیح العراقی» اثر حسن بلاسم؛ خوانشی بر اساس الگوی گالتونگ

Title



The Reproduction of Triangle of Violence in Hassan Blasim’s The Iraqi Christ: A Galtungian Reading



Introduction

Contemporary literary studies of violence have increasingly moved beyond the traditional understanding of violence as isolated physical acts to a more complex, multilayered phenomenon embedded in social, cultural, and institutional structures. Violence, historically rooted in concepts such as violare (to harm or violate), has evolved in meaning from physical force to a broader system of power relations that shapes everyday life. In modern war narratives, particularly in post-conflict societies, violence becomes not an episodic event but a sustained condition that reorganizes social reality.This study examines the short story “The Iraqi Christ” within the framework of Johan Galtung’s theory of violence, which distinguishes between direct, structural, and cultural violence. Galtung conceptualizes violence as a cyclical system in which each layer reinforces and reproduces the others. The present research aims to analyze how these three forms of violence are represented in the narrative and how they interact in a recursive mechanism of reproduction. The significance of this study lies in demonstrating how literary texts of war not only represent violence but also reveal its mechanisms of normalization, legitimization, and perpetuation within society.



Methodology

This research employs a qualitative literary analysis based on Galtung’s theory of violence. The selected text, “The Iraqi Christ” by Hassan Blasim, is analyzed through close reading and interpretive examination of narrative segments that reflect direct, structural, and cultural violence. The analysis is organized thematically in accordance with Galtung’s triadic model, while also extending to the dynamic interaction among these layers.In addition to identifying textual evidence of violence, the study focuses on the cyclical mechanisms through which violence is reproduced across different levels of the narrative. Particular attention is given to symbolic representation, institutional breakdown, linguistic transformation, and myth-making processes that contribute to the normalization and continuation of violence.



Results and Discussion

The findings demonstrate that violence in “The Iraqi Christ” operates as a multilayered and self-reproducing system in which direct, structural, and cultural violence are deeply interwoven.Direct violence is most visibly represented through bodily destruction, constant threat, and exposure to death as a daily experience. The narrative normalizes physical violence by embedding it in ordinary life situations, where death and survival coexist in a continuous state of tension. However, this direct violence is not isolated; it is constantly mediated by structural and cultural conditions.Structural violence appears through institutional discrimination, collapse of social systems, and forced displacement. The protagonist’s exclusion from military aviation due to his family’s political background illustrates how institutional mechanisms restrict individual potential and redirect life trajectories. Similarly, the transformation of educational spaces into military zones and the fragmentation of family networks through war-induced migration demonstrate how social institutions lose their protective function and become part of the war system itself. These structural conditions generate chronic insecurity and normalize violence as a mode of survival.Cultural violence functions as the legitimizing framework for both direct and structural violence. It operates through myth-making, pseudo-scientific discourse, and linguistic normalization. The transformation of the protagonist into a quasi-messianic figure replaces rational trust in institutions with belief in supernatural salvation, thereby diverting attention from structural causes of violence. Additionally, the blending of scientific knowledge with superstition and the humorous representation of death and explosions in everyday language contribute to the moral desensitization of society. Violence is no longer perceived as an exception but as part of everyday culture.Most importantly, the study identifies three recursive cycles of violence reproduction. The first cycle shows how myth-making generates symbolic authority, which compensates for institutional failure and ultimately reinforces direct violence through continued conflict and survival dependence on the mythic figure. The second cycle demonstrates how prolonged war leads to institutional collapse, normalization of insecurity, and the emergence of further violent responses, including radical acts. The third cycle illustrates how linguistic and cultural normalization of violence reduces moral sensitivity, transforming violence into humor and everyday discourse, which in turn facilitates new forms of violence.These cycles collectively reveal a self-reinforcing system in which each form of violence simultaneously produces and sustains the others. Direct violence feeds cultural narratives, structural collapse enables direct violence, and cultural normalization legitimizes both. The interaction between these layers forms a closed loop of reproduction that makes violence appear continuous and inevitable.



Conclusion

The analysis of “The Iraqi Christ” through Galtung’s framework reveals that violence in the narrative is not a fragmented or episodic phenomenon but a dynamic, interdependent system. Direct, structural, and cultural violence operate simultaneously and reinforce each other within recursive cycles of reproduction. The study shows that myth-making, institutional breakdown, and linguistic normalization function as key mechanisms that sustain violence across different levels of society.Ultimately, the findings suggest that breaking the cycle of violence requires addressing not only its direct manifestations but also its structural foundations and cultural legitimizations. Without simultaneous intervention at all three levels, violence continues to regenerate itself within both narrative and social reality.



Keywords

Structural violence; Cultural violence; Direct violence; Johan Galtung; War literature; Hassan Blasim; The Iraqi Christ