Living in the frame of structural violence: Institutional regulations and daily life in Lleida, Spain

Abstract

This article investigates how structural violence is reflected in the daily life of the peripheries of a medium-sized city in the interior of Spain. For this, three categories of analysis are used: inquisitive violence, coercive violence and horizontal violence. Forms of resistance are also highlighted. This makes it possible to trace the various ways that state institutions act and behave to exercise power over people. These actions have direct consequences for ‘vulnerable’ population, inducing feelings of humiliation, personal and group suffering, the perpetuation of social inequality, the lack of democratic freedoms, and the creation of violent or exploitative practises. Likewise, this path allows us to see how neoliberal logics are applied, their consequences and, most importantly, how they generate new normalities and livelihoods that serve as discursive support for new applications of antisocial policies.