VIOLENCE AS A MECHANISM OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY CASTILE

Political violence serves not only as an extension of political struggle, but also as a means of organizing political conflict << by other means >>. Thus, political violence is not necessarily a random and chaotic phenomenon, lacking logic or even legitimacy. Moreover, it does not occur exclusively or primarily from the top down, since the logic of the struggle permeates society, and its agents can link their actions with specific instruments of struggle, depending on their interests, their ability to project the violence and the type of action that is required in each context. This introduction seeks to explore the rationale, instances and instruments of political struggle, especially, although not exclusively, in the Castilian context, examining its connection with the process of political communication in which it is inserted. It also serves as a presentation of the articles that deal with this issue and its context within its dual analytical framework of political violence and political communication.