The English Riots of Summer 2011

Can an ethnocultural perspective be justified?

Authors

  • Małgorzata Kułakowska Jagiellonian University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.12.2015.31_2.14

Keywords:

English Riots, Race, Ethnicity

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to analyse the English riots of summer 2011 and reflect on the questions of race and ethnicity – will they add significantly to our understanding of these events? The paper presents the timeline of social unrest, its dominant actors and events (starting from the manifestation organized by Mark Duggan’s family and friends), as well as the main theoretical themes and analytical perspectives present in British debate on the riots. The author argues that while the ethnocultural perspective cannot be seen as a leading one, in order to properly understand the events of August 2011 the links to previous riots and the history of racial tensions between police and members of certain communities should be unfolded and explored.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

  • Małgorzata Kułakowska, Jagiellonian University

    Is a political scientist currently working at the Institute of Political Science and International Relations of the Jagiellonian University. Her doctoral thesis was devoted to the concept of community cohesion in British politics from 2001 to 2010. She is an author of several articles devoted to ideas of multiculturalism, British society and ethnic relations, as well as the co-editor of “Studies on multiculturalism” (2010), and co-author of educational resources for teachers “Different faces of Britishness” (2012).

References

Days in August. An Interim report on the English riots, Riots Communities and Victims Panel, London 2011, at <http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121003195935/http:/riotspanel.independent.gov.uk/wp‑content/uploads/2012/04/Interim‑report‑5‑Days‑in‑August.pdf>.

Adapting to Austerity. A review of police force and authority preparedness for the 2011/12‑14/15 CSR period, HMIC, July 2011, at <http://www.hmic.gov.uk/media/adapting‑to‑austerity‑20110721.pdf>.

After the riots. The final report of the Riots Communities and Victims Panel, Riots Communities and Victims Panel, March 2012, at <http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121003195935/http://riotspanel.independent.gov.uk/wp‑content/uploads/2012/03/Riots‑Panel‑Final‑Report1.pdf>.

Baker SA, ‘Policing the Riots: New Social Media as Recruitment, Resistance, and Surveillance’ in D. Briggs (ed.), The English Riots of 2011. A Summer of Discontent, Hook 2012.

‘Bank Bonuses “To Run to Billions in 2011”’, BBC News Online, 7 January 2011, at <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business‑12131092>.

Bradford B., Jackson J., ‘When Trust Is Lost: the British and their Police after the Tottenham Riots’, Books and Ideas, 8 November 2011, at <http://www.booksandideas.net/When‑Trust‑is‑Lost.html>.

Bridges L., ‘Four Days in August: the UK Riots’, Race & Class, Vol. 54, No. 1 (2012), at <http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306396812446564>.

Briggs D., ‘Frustrations, Urban Relations and Temptations: Contextualising the English Riots’ in idem (ed.), The English Riots of 2011. A Summer of Discontent, Hook 2012.

Briggs D., ‘Introduction’ in idem (ed.), The English Riots of 2011. A Summer of Discontent, Hook 2012.

Briggs D. (ed.), The English Riots of 2011. A Summer of Discontent, Hook 2012.

‘Cabinet Expenses under Scrutiny’, BBC News Online, 8 May 2009, at <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8039108.stm>.

Cohen N., ‘Why Did Joy Gardner Die?: It Should Not Surprise Anyone that an Illegal Immigrant’s Death Can Cause a National Scandal’, The Independent Online, 23 October 2011, at <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/why‑did‑joy‑gardner‑die‑it‑should‑not‑surprise‑anyone‑that‑an‑illegal‑immigrants‑death‑can‑cause‑a‑national‑scandal‑nick‑cohen‑reports‑1459872.html>.

Fekete L., ‘Total Policing: Reflections from the Frontline’, Race & Class, Vol. 54, No. 3 (2013), at <http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306396812464159>.

HMIC Press Release #020/2013, at <http://www.hmic.gov.uk/news/releases‑2013/0202013‑hmic‑finds‑the‑police‑use‑of‑stop‑and‑search‑powers‑is‑too‑often‑ineffective/>.

Home Affairs Committee – Sixteenth Report, Policing Large Scale Disorder: Lessons from the disturbances of August 2011, House of Commons, December 2011, at <http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmhaff/1456/145602.htm>.

Jackiewicz S. (ed.), Kwestie spisowe a tożsamość etniczno‑kulturowa autochtonicznych mniejszości na pograniczach, Białystok 2012.

Jones J., ‘August 2011: A Riot of Our Own’, International Socialism, no. 132 (2011), at <http://isj.org.uk/august‑2011‑a‑riot‑of‑our‑own/>.

Klein A., ‘Policing as a Causal Factor – a Fresh View on Riots and Social Unrest’, Safer Communities, Vol. 11, No. 1 (2012), at <http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17578041211200074>.

Kułakowska M., ‘Kategorie “etniczności” oraz “rasy”’ in Ł. Krzyżowski, S. Urbańska (eds.), Mozaiki przestrzeni transnarodowych. Teorie, metody, zjawiska, Kraków 2010.

Kułakowska M., ‘Rozwiązania dotyczące przynależności etnicznej i narodowej przyjęte w spisach powszechnych Polski i Wielkiej Brytanii’ in S. Jackiewicz (ed.), Kwestie spisowe a tożsamość etniczno‑kulturowa autochtonicznych mniejszości na pograniczach, Białystok 2012.

Morrell G. et al., The August riots in England. Understanding the involvement of young people, October 2011, prepared for the Cabinet Office, NatCen, at <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/60531/The_20August_20Riots_20in_20England_20_pdf__201mb_.pdf>.

Moxon D., ‘Consumer Culture and the 2011 “Riots”’, Sociological Research Online, Vol. 16, No. 4 (2011). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.2539

Muir H., Adegoke Y., ‘Were the Riots about Race?’ in D. Roberts (ed.), Reading the Riots. Investigating England’s Summer of Disorder, London 2011, Kindle Edition (Guardian Shorts).

‘No Punishment for Sylvester’s Death’, BBC News Online, 8 August 2007, at <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6937410.stm>.

An Overview of Recorded Crimes and Arrests Resulting from Disorder Events in August 2011, Gov. uk, 24 October 2011, at <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/an‑overview‑of‑recorded‑crimes‑and‑arrests‑resulting‑from‑disorder‑events‑in‑august‑2011>.

Police powers to stop and search: your rights, GOV.uk, at <https://www.gov.uk/police‑powers‑to‑stop‑and‑search‑your‑rights>.

Policing in austerity: One year on, HMIC, July 2012, at <http://www.hmic.gov.uk/media/policing‑in‑austerity‑one‑year‑on.pdf>.

Proportion of ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom population, Census 2011: KS201EW – Ethnic group, at <http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/KS201EW/view/2092957703>.

Prasad R., ‘The Riots Were “a Sort of Revenge” against the Police’ in D. Roberts (ed.), Reading the Riots. Investigating England’s Summer of Disorder, London 2011, Kindle Edition (Guardian Shorts).

Public disorder of 6th‑9th August 2011 statistical tables – September 2012, Gov.uk, 13 September 2012, at <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statistical‑bulletin‑on‑the‑public‑disorder‑of‑6th‑9th‑august‑2011–2>.

Roberts D. (ed.), Reading the Riots. Investigating England’s Summer of Disorder, London 2011, Kindle Edition (Guardian Shorts).

Slater T., ‘From “Criminality” to Marginality: Rioting against a Broken State’, Human Geography, Vol. 4, No. 3 (2011).

Solomos J., ‘Race, Rumours and Riots: Past, Present and Future’, Sociological Research Online, Vol. 16, No. 4, (2011).

Statement by IPCC Commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne in relation to Duggan family complaint, IPCC, 29 February 2012, at <http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/news/Pages/pr_290212_duggan.aspx>.

Statistical bulletin on the public disorder of 6th to 9th August 2011 – September 2012 update, Ministry of Justice, 13 September 2012, at <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/219665/august‑public‑disorder‑stats‑bulletin‑130912.pdf>.

Statistical bulletin on the public disorder of 6th to 9th August 2011 – October update, Ministry of Justice, 24 October 2011, at <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/217807/august‑public‑disorder‑stats‑bulletin‑241011.pdf>.

Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2010. A Ministry of Justice publication under Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, Ministry of Justice, October 2011, at <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/219967/stats‑race‑cjs‑2010.pdf>.

Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?, HMIC, 9 July 2013, at <http://www.hmic.gov.uk/publication/stop‑and‑search‑powers‑20130709/>.

Stop and Search Report, April 2013, HMIC, at <http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/media/stop‑and‑search‑survey‑summary.pdf>.

BBC News Website, at <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news>.

The Independent Website, at <http://www.independent.co.uk>.

NOMIS Official Labour Market Statistics Website, at <http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/>.

British Government Services and Information Website, at <http://www.gov.uk>.

Downloads

Published

09-02-2015

How to Cite

“The English Riots of Summer 2011: Can an Ethnocultural Perspective Be Justified?”. 2015. Politeja 12 (8 (31/2): 239-57. https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.12.2015.31_2.14.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 63

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.