Judge Thy Neighbor: Denunciations in the Spanish Inquisition, Romanov Russia, and Nazi Germany

Patrick Bergemann

Published by Columbia University Press 2019

Judge Thy Neighbor

Denunciations in the Spanish Inquisition, Romanov Russia, and Nazi Germany

Patrick Bergemann

In the series The Middle Range Series

https://doi.org/10.7312/berg18016

Overview
Contents

About this book

From the Spanish Inquisition to Nazi Germany to the United States today, ordinary people have often chosen to turn in their neighbors to the authorities. In Judge Thy Neighbor, Patrick Bergemann provides a theoretical framework for understanding the motives for denunciations in terms of institutional structures and incentives.

Author / Editor information

Patrick Bergemann is assistant professor of organizations and strategy at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Reviews

Richard Lachmann, State University of New York at Albany:
There have been case studies of the Inquisition and lots of work on the Gestapo, but the explanations in all of those are ad hoc and make no effort to generalize beyond their single cases. Judge Thy Neighbor offers a theory that I expect will both transform future work on these and other cases of denunciations and influence broader social-science analyses of group dynamics, social movements, and microsocial relations.

Michael Macy, Cornell University:
Research on deviance typically focuses on those who violate prevailing norms. Bergemann turns the camera around: What if the real deviants are the accusers, not the accused? By applying alternative theoretical models to three historical cases, Bergemann identifies the viral strains in epidemics of denunciation, with stunning new insights. This exquisitely crafted study is must reading not only for students of social control but for anyone who wonders if law enforcement should be crowdsourced.

Stathis N. Kalyvas, author of The Logic of Violence in Civil War:
Denunciation is more pervasive than we think, yet remains poorly studied and understood. Using three case studies, Bergemann advances new hypotheses and helps shed light on this intriguing social phenomenon.

Randall Collins, author of The Credential Society: An Historical Sociology of Education and Stratification:
The nastiest feature of living in oppressive regimes is the pressure to denounce other people. But Bergemann shows some surprising patterns. Regimes can be inundated in unreliable information and petty grievances, and some incentives have more costs than others. The history is highly relevant in today’s era of whistle-blowers, snitching, and on-line accusations.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1. A Theory of Denunciation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. The Spanish Inquisition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
3. Romanov Russia Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	83
4. Nazi Germany Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
5. Denunciations: Present and Future Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	209
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	267

Language: English
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Illustrations
- Other: 4 maps

eBook

Published: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 9780231542388