3.1 riots, protest and mass disorder in the city Flashcards
where is the legal definition of riots
section 1 of the public order act 1986
what is minimum amount of people for a riot
12
what does section 1 of the public order act 1986 state
- 12 or more people
- together threaten or use unlawful violence
-for a common purpose - in such a way that conduct of them all together is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness at the scene to the fear for their personal safety
is the definition of riots neutral
no it can be deployed as a label to imply criminality and condemnation
what does tilly 2003 definition of ritos embody what judgement
embodies a political judgement rather than an analytical distinction
- damage-doing gatherings which they dissaprove
what terms do authorities use for riots (tilly 2003)
- demonstration
- protest
- resistance
- retaliation
what is an explanation for why riots happen ‘x versus x’
structure versus agency
what do sociological traditions of riot explanations focus on
structure: broader deeper social conditions
what examples for sociological explanations for riots
- social inequality
- social exclusion
- localised histories
- cultural traditions
what are psychological traditions for why riots happen
examples
what is distinctive about the rioters
in terms of
- rationality
- personality
- morality
what are contemporary social psychological approaches to explain riots
explore INTERACTIONAL ASPECTS of mass disorder
attempt to LOCATE some kind of COLLECTIVE IDENTITY of the crowd
What is a traditional psychological aporoaches in classical theories - who
le bon 1985
what did le bon saw the 19th centiry as the..
‘era of the crowd’ with potential to negatively transform society
what does le bon label with crowd as
a psychological entity with a collective mind
in le bons theory in a crowd individuals lose what
lose sense of self and responisbility - become SUBMERGED and feel empowered
when crowd members lose sense of self and self control they become subject to what ?
contagion - the inability to resist passing ideas/ emotions
le bons suggestiability is an indication of what?
atavism
crowd members lose their veneers of civilisation
what are key criticsms of classical crowd theories
- decontexutalisation
- generalisation
- pathologisation
- ideological slant
what 3 things are evident in ideological slant criticsm of classical crowd theories
- denial of voice
- denial of responsibility
- legitimised repression
in the elaborated social identity movel STOTT 2017
- the crowd contains what?
- changes occur within what?
- crowd contains many different psychological crowds with different identiies/ intentions
- changes occur within moderate elements of the crowd
in elaborated social identity model stott
- what treatment is there
- being treated illegitimate what happens
- indiscriminate treatment of all crowd memebrs by the police
- being treated as illegitimate the moderates begin to see themselves as oppositional
in elaborated social identity model stott what does interaction effects between police and the crowd create
vicious circles
what 4 principles for policing policy are there elaborated social identity model stott
- educate
- communicate
- facilitate
- differentiate
what was the studies of US ghetto riots in late 1960s
- sociological theories of crowd vioelnce
- kerner commission 1968
in studies of US ghetto riots in late 1960s what is emphasised
- academic/ policy responses emphasised SOCIAL element of explanations
in studies of US ghetto riots in late 1960s what are they a product of
SE
M
P
R
- social exclusion
- marginalisation
- poverty
- racism
In studies of us ghetto riots in late 1960s what are riots viewed as a mechanism of
a mechanism of political protest
NOT as basic criminality or irrational violence
what 4 core themes have studies of uk riots from 1980s onwards focussed on
SI
U
P
R
- structural inequality
- unemployment
- poverty
- racism
what other core themes have studies of uk riots from 1980s onwards focussed on
experiences of policing
local cultures and histories
in the flashpoints model what 6 things are there
S
S
C
C
I
P/I
- structural
- situational
- cultural
- contextual
- interactional
- political/ ideological
what are 4 elements of structural flashpoints model
- macro-sociological factors
- inequality
- powerlessness
- social exclusion
what does the political/ ideological aspects of flashpoints model entail
the way that key institutions such as police, political parties, pressure groups and media response to group concerns
what does the cultural aspect of flashpoints model entail
- shared ways of life
- ways of viewing the world and their place in it
- in and out group stereotypes
- rules of behaviour
what is the contextual aspect of the flashpoints model
- processes of communication around situation
- history of relationships with police
- rumour and media stories
what is the situational aspect of flashpoints model
specific social or physical features of the arena of disorder
what is the interactional aspect of flashpoints model
- nature and quality of interaction between police and particualr citizens at the scene
what can a flashpoint incident/ series of incidents trigger
can trigger a spate of spiralling mutual violence
what are 3 authoris that criticise flashpoints model
- PAJ waddington 1991
- bagguley and hussain 2009
- newburn 2015
what does PAJ waddington 1991 criticise flashpoints model for
- simplistic police blaming
- long time lag between flashpoints and riot reduces its explanatory utility
what does bagguely and hussain 2009 criticse flashpoints model for
- overgeneralization
- homogenised notion of the crowd
- too vague and imprecise
- simplisitc reduction to a solitary flashpoint
what deos newburn 2015 criticise flashpoints model for
- flashpoints not clearly specified
- focuses overly on causes of rioting (before riots happen) rather than seeing them in the round
what does newburn 2015 suggest we need to focus on instead of before the riots happen
- focus on the life cycle of riots including dynamics DURING riots
- and penal/ policy responses that occur AFTERWARDS
