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This text explores the meanings and contexts in which violent actions occur. The authors build upon David Riches's concept of "the triangle of violence" - which examines the relationship between performers, victims and witnesses - and his proposition that violence is marked by contests regarding its legitimacy as a social act. Adopting an approach which looks at the negotiated and contingent nature of violent behaviour, Stewart and Strathern particularly stress the powerful underlying motivation for revenge and the often unacknowledged association between ideas of revenge and concepts of justice. These theoretical perspectives are applied to in-depth case studies from Rwanda-Burundi, Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland. The authors also draw on extensive field experience in Papua New Guinea, and ethnographic detail is used to address broader issues of considerable global importance.