Riots

Abstract

The past century of research has identified a host of economic, political, demographic, and other factors that seem to be associated with the prevalence of riots. The study of riots has, however, probably focused too much on these "push" factors that lead to violence and not enough on understanding the response of the state to riots. Understanding the political incentives that motivate democratic and authoritarian states to sometimes allow riots to take place and at other times to take the strongest possible law-and-order measures to prevent them is key to understanding variation in violence. Scholars also need to pay more attention to the psychological factors that encourage people to riot, and to the micro-logic of target choice within these larger events.

Religious riots and electoral politics in India

“…There is a large literature in social science which argues that the effect of communal riots on elections is explained primarily by the salience of religious identities (Brass, 2003;Wilkinson, 2004Wilkinson, , 2009Varshney, 2002;Jaffrelot, 2010). Many researchers refer to this phenomenon as 'communal polarisation' or polarisation along religious lines.…”

Tilting at a windmill? The conceptual problem in contemporary peace science

“…Yet, while bemoaning the momentary collapse of "civilization" in 2011 London and 2015 Baltimore, both authors take care not to paint all members of "the crowd" with Le Bon's broad brush. That is, these politicos temper their punditry in deference to the work of Gurr and others that emphasizes the complex interactions among protestors, police, politicians and the media that produce riots (for a review see Wilkinson 2009). More directly to Keynes's claim, plenty of the media coverage of the events in 2011 London (e.g., Editors 2015a) and 2015 Baltimore (e.g.…”

Mapping the self: challenges of insider research in a riot-affected city and strategies to improve data quality

“…The ramifications of these challenges are enhanced when the researcher also happens to be an 'insider' -someone whose biography (religion, nationality, age, region, and so on) gives them a familiarity with the group being researched (Griffith 1998). There is substantive literature on the challenges of conducting research in conflict sites, in South Asia and other regions (Dowler 2001;Finlay 2001;Tambiah 1997;Wilkinson 2009;Wood 2006) and, independently, on the consequences of the insider-outsider distinction on data quality (Dwyer and Buckle 2009;Kanuha 2000;MacPhail 2004;Mohammad and Sidaway 2013). This article examines the convergence of the two: the challenges of the insider researcher conducting fieldwork in a violence-affected site.…”

“…Was there complete peace or were there incidents of arson or looting? Official data in civilian riots are frequently manipulated by police and politicians, both of whom have an incentive to under-report crime to portray efficient governance (Wilkinson 2009). This is especially problematic in India, where rationally-motivated acts of violence against minority groups, camouflaged as spontaneous outbursts of anger, have become a legitimate form of political expression (Brass 2003;Hansen 2008, 3;Spodek 2011;Tambiah 1986) -comparable with informal justice systems in apartheid South Africa, and legitimised 'punishment' beatings in Northern Ireland (Knox 2001).…”

“…One disadvantage of the open-ended discussions was contradictory information. Rashomon-like, multiple realities began to emerge from a single episode (see Brass 1997;Roy 1994;Wilkinson 2009), as every other respondent, Hindu or Muslim, professed to being a 'victim' duty-bound to engage in violence out of 'self-defence'. When the State is the perpetrator of violence against civilians, the meanings of the terms 'victim' and 'perpetrator' get defined on the basis of who 'deserved' punishment at a certain time (Knox 2001;also Ghassem-Fachandi 2010;Jasani 2011;Jeffery and Jeffery 1994).…”