The British Academy Brian Barry prize essay why Is there no just riot theory?
The British Academy Brian Barry prize essay why Is there no just riot theory?
Given the prevalence of riots throughout human history, the lack of normative theorizing about them compared to other forms of political violence is striking. The author hypothesizes that this is due to riots' extra-institutionality. Riots are extra-public because they involve the participation of crowds, rather than institutionalized groups such as parties or social movements. They are extra-state because they violate the state's monopoly on violence. Riots are extra-legal because they constitute a form of unlawful assembly. They are also extra-parliamentary because they operate outside the normal legislative process. This article considers justifiable reasons to resist each of these foundational institutions, and proposes provisional criteria for a justifiable riot. The author concludes by urging political theorists to further examine the normative dimension of riots.
crowd, just war theory, resistance, riots, violence
909-923
Havercroft, Jonathan
929f9452-daf9-4859-9f59-88348846949a
16 February 2021
Havercroft, Jonathan
929f9452-daf9-4859-9f59-88348846949a
Havercroft, Jonathan
(2021)
The British Academy Brian Barry prize essay why Is there no just riot theory?
British Journal of Political Science, 51 (3), .
(doi:10.1017/S000712342000085X).
Abstract
Given the prevalence of riots throughout human history, the lack of normative theorizing about them compared to other forms of political violence is striking. The author hypothesizes that this is due to riots' extra-institutionality. Riots are extra-public because they involve the participation of crowds, rather than institutionalized groups such as parties or social movements. They are extra-state because they violate the state's monopoly on violence. Riots are extra-legal because they constitute a form of unlawful assembly. They are also extra-parliamentary because they operate outside the normal legislative process. This article considers justifiable reasons to resist each of these foundational institutions, and proposes provisional criteria for a justifiable riot. The author concludes by urging political theorists to further examine the normative dimension of riots.
Text
WhynoJRTBJPSFinal
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 7 August 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 16 February 2021
Published date: 16 February 2021
Additional Information:
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Keywords:
crowd, just war theory, resistance, riots, violence
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Local EPrints ID: 445638
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/445638
ISSN: 0007-1234
PURE UUID: b508f9d1-6024-416d-b1c6-161ddec975fb
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Date deposited: 05 Jan 2021 17:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:32
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