Kai Thaler has just been awarded a distinction for his Masters degree (by research only) on "Violence and Society in Post-Apartheid Cape Town". Kai's thesis uses data from the 5th wave of the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS), supplemented with in-depth interviews, to examine participation by young men in violence, and the legitimation of violence. He finds that economic factors - including, especially, unemployment - are less important directly in the perpetration of violence than is usually imagined, whilst more immediate behavioural factors (such as heavy drinking) are more important.
