A social identity model of riot diffusion : from injustice to empowerment in the 2011 London riots
View/ Open
Date
31/03/2020Author
Grant ID
ES/N01068X/1
Keywords
Metadata
Show full item recordAltmetrics Handle Statistics
Altmetrics DOI Statistics
Abstract
Previous research has shown that riots spread across multiple locations, but has not explained underlying psychological processes. We examined rioting in three locations during the August 2011 disorders in England to test a social identity model of riot diffusion. We triangulated multiple sources to construct a narrative of events; and we analysed interviews with 68 participants to examine experiences. In line with the model, we found evidence for two pathways of influence: “cognitive” and “strategic”. For some participants, previous rioting was highly self-relevant, and shared identity was the basis of their subsequent involvement. For others, previous rioting was empowering because it demonstrated the vulnerability of a common enemy (the police). In each location, interaction dynamics mediated the link between initial perceptions and collective action. The utility of this social identity approach is that it is able to account for both the boundaries and the sequence of urban riot diffusion.
Citation
Drury , J , Stott , C , Ball , R , Reicher , S D , Neville , F G , Bell , L , Biddlestone , M , Choudhury , S , Lovell , M & Ryan , C E 2020 , ' A social identity model of riot diffusion : from injustice to empowerment in the 2011 London riots ' , European Journal of Social Psychology , vol. 50 , no. 3 , pp. 646-661 . https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2650
Publication
European Journal of Social Psychology
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0046-2772Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2650
Description
This work was supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (grant number ES/N01068X/1) to John Drury, Stephen Reicher, and Clifford Stott.Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Strength in a weakened state : interpreting Hizb’allah’s experiences as a social movement and governing coalition in Lebanon 1985-2013
Bernhoff, Arthur (University of St Andrews, 2015-06-23) - ThesisThis study investigates Hizb’allah’s successful but competing dual development as an extra-institutional Shi’a social movement and an institutional political party. Hizb’allah has traditionally been studied from the ... -
Spatial underpinnings of social inequalities : a vicious circles of segregation approach
Tammaru, Tiit; Knapp, David; Silm, Siiri; Van Ham, Maarten; Witlox, Frank (2021-05-13) - Journal articleA paradigm shift is taking place in spatial segregation research. At the heart of this shift is the understanding of the connectedness of spatial segregation in different life domains and the availability of new datasets ... -
Radical social innovations and the spatialities of grassroots activism : navigating pathways for tackling inequality and reinventing the commons
Apostolopoulou, Elia; Bormpoudakis, Dimitrios; Chatzipavlidis, Alexandros; Cortés Vázquez, Juan José; Florea, Ioana; Gearey, Mary; Levy, Julyan; Loginova, Julia; Ordner, James; Partridge, Tristan; Pizarro Choy, Alejandra; Rhoades, Hannibal; Symons, Kate; Veríssimo, Céline; Wahby, Noura (2022-04-05) - Journal articleIn this article, by drawing on empirical evidence from twelve case studies from nine countries from across the Global South and North, we ask how radical grassroots social innovations that are part of social movements and ...