Abstract
The interdisciplinary study of hatred, as a distinctive social phenomenon, is relatively new to the academy. In the past, one could expect the political ramifications of hate to be subsumed, and often dissipated, within the separate disciplinary machinery exerted upon the subjects of study. This special volume brings politics front and center. It does so by collecting essays that assess the psychology, motivations, organization, tactics, and ends of hate. The weight of the essays suggests that hatred possesses a deeply instrumental genesis, structure, and operation. Collectively, the articles insist that, whatever its origins or precise psychological mechanism, hate is driven by processes toward outward-directed ends. It is mobilized through politics and institutions, and its potency can either be contained or nurtured by the rule of law.