Interpersonal and collective violence receive different levels of attention in the public eye, even though interpersonal violence, such as homicides, domestic violence, and violence against children, is far more widespread worldwide. In their new book “Worse than War: The Global Costs of Violence,” Anke Hoeffler and James Fearon address this imbalance. Hoeffler presented the book on September 17, 2026, at a joint hybrid book talk organized by TraCe and PRIF.
Drawing on extensive international data, the authors compare the prevalence and costs of collective and interpersonal violence. While wars are usually limited to specific regions, interpersonal violence occurs worldwide and particularly affects women and children. In their book, the authors demonstrate that the societal costs of interpersonal violence significantly exceed those of collective violence and advocate for the potential of targeted prevention measures.
During the book talk, Anke Hoeffler first presented the book’s central theses and arguments. In the subsequent Q&A session, researchers from TraCe and PRIF asked questions and discussed the book’s theses and findings with the author.