The current growth of incidents of public disorder around the world can be seen as symptomatic of major transformations in globalized society, government, and technology. But while disorder is routinely perceived as a disturbing phenomenon, it can also be a catalyst for positive transformation and regeneration. As social media is increasingly used as a platform for mobilization and organization, local disorder may spread outward through national borders, receiving international coverage and visibility as well as triggering a domino effect of global unrest.

Combining qualitative and quantitative research, this ground-breaking text analyzes oppositional notions of order and disorder in global, national, and local contexts and considers the role of the police, the justice system, and other authorities in developing a range of responsive strategies. The author develops a new comprehensive framework for engaging in comparative and historical analysis of public disorder by drawing upon international case studies of public unrest such as 2005 in Paris and 2011 in London; the events in Ferguson and Baltimore that seeded Black Lives Matter; the Occupy movements in Zuccotti Park, Gezi Park, and Hong Kong; and the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels.

This dynamic comparative study is informed by extensive international interviews and will be a required reading for students and scholars of criminology, sociology, political science, and urban studies.

About the Author

Sophie Body-Gendrot is Emeritus Professor at Universite Sorbonne-Paris IV, France, a researcher at CESDIP-CNRS-French Minister of Justice, and co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of European Criminology (2013).

Reviews

'The consequences of globalization and rapidly growing urbanization for shaping social movements are yet to be fully understood. In this elegant cross-cultural exploration of demonstrations, movements and risings, scholars will find a framework and a set of questions that will shape future research. This is a masterful and foundational work.'

Peter K. Manning, Elmer V.H. and Eileen M. Brooks Chair in Policing, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Northeastern University, USA

'In this moment of global crisis and conflict between people and the police, this book reminds us of the roots of the clashes and the difficult struggles of disenfranchised groups for security and dignity in the face of resistance from the state. Public Disorder and Globalization realizes the remarkable intellectual achievement of showing the contested moral and political spaces and meanings at the heart of these conflicts. We see inside police institutions in three global cities to understand the meaning of order and contested space to the state, and how police notions of disorder threaten state actors and political elites. We see how the state, through its police apparatus, reshapes the struggle for recognition and belonging of those on the outside into social and political threat that invites harsh responses to control both people and spaces. This is a wonderful book that uses thick case studies where the state speaks in its own voice to reveal the justifying ideology for its use of harsh social control to reinforce the power of the elites and frustrate the search for dignity of those left behind.'

Jeffrey Fagan, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law, Columbia University, USA

Book Information
ISBN 9781138925434
Author Sophie Body-Gendrot
Format Paperback
Page Count 188
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 350g