
Show Time
The Logic and Power of Violent Display
Lee Ann Fujii(Author)
Martha Finnemore(Editor)
Cornell University Press
Will be published approx. on 15. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
234 pages
978-1-5017-8686-0 (ISBN)
Description
In Show Time, Lee Ann Fujii asks why some perpetrators of political violence, from lynch mobs to genocidal killers, display their acts of violence so publicly and extravagantly. Closely examining three horrific and extreme episodes - the murder of a prominent Tutsi family amidst the genocide in Rwanda, the execution of Muslim men in a Serb-controlled village in Bosnia during the Balkan Wars, and the lynching of a twenty-two-year old Black farmhand on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1933 - Fujii shows how "violent displays" are staged to not merely to kill those perceived to be enemies or threats, but also to affect and influence observers, neighbors, and the larger society.
Watching and participating in these violent displays profoundly transforms those involved, reinforcing political identities, social hierarchies, and power structures. Such public spectacles of violence also force members of the community to choose sides - openly show support for the goals of the violence, or risk becoming victims, themselves. Tracing the ways in which public displays of violence unfold, Show Time reveals how the perpetrators exploit the fluidity of social ties for their own ends.
Watching and participating in these violent displays profoundly transforms those involved, reinforcing political identities, social hierarchies, and power structures. Such public spectacles of violence also force members of the community to choose sides - openly show support for the goals of the violence, or risk becoming victims, themselves. Tracing the ways in which public displays of violence unfold, Show Time reveals how the perpetrators exploit the fluidity of social ties for their own ends.
Reviews / Votes
"Overall, Show Time is an extraordinary text that is as profound as it is provocative. The text also serves as a master-class in using the hyper-local to explain micro-dynamics." - International Affairs"Show Time is truly a remarkable book: deeply original, perceptive and courageous, It is also exceptionally well-written. The publication of Show Time is a gift." - Commonwealth and Comparative Politics
"This book is a page-turner, passionately written, incredibly self-aware and poised." - Human Rights Review
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Ithaca
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 151 mm
Width: 230 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
368 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5017-8686-0 (9781501786860)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2021
Cornell University Press
€18.49
Available for download
Persons
Lee Ann Fujii was Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto and a member of the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. She is author of Killing Neighbors and Interviewing in Social Science Research.
Martha Finnemore is University Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University.
Elisabeth Jean Wood is the Crosby Professor of the Human Environment and Professor of Political Science, International and Area Studies at Yale University.
Martha Finnemore is University Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University.
Elisabeth Jean Wood is the Crosby Professor of the Human Environment and Professor of Political Science, International and Area Studies at Yale University.
Content
Introduction
1. Fixations: The Making and Unmaking of Categories
2. Rehearsal
3. Main Attraction
4. Intermission
5. Sideshow
6. Encore
7. Fictions: The Making and Unmaking of Boundaries
Epilogue
1. Fixations: The Making and Unmaking of Categories
2. Rehearsal
3. Main Attraction
4. Intermission
5. Sideshow
6. Encore
7. Fictions: The Making and Unmaking of Boundaries
Epilogue