The Deadly Ethnic RiotDonald L. Horowitz's comprehensive consideration of the structure and dynamics of ethnic violence is the first full-scale, comparative study of what the author terms the deadly ethnic riot--an intense, sudden, lethal attack by civilian members of one ethnic group on civilian members of another ethnic group. Serious, frequent, and destabilizing, these events result in large numbers of casualties. Horowitz examines approximately 150 such riots in about fifty countries, mainly in Asia, Africa, and the former Soviet Union, as well as fifty control cases. With its deep and thorough scholarship, incisive analysis, and profound insights, The Deadly Ethnic Riot will become the definitive work on its subject. Furious and sadistic, the riot is nevertheless directed against a precisely specified class of targets and conducted with considerable circumspection. Horowitz scrutinizes target choices, participants and organization, the timing and supporting conditions for the violence, the nature of the events that precede the riot, the prevalence of atrocities during the violence, the location and diffusion of riots, and the aims and effects of riot behavior. He finds that the deadly ethnic riot is a highly patterned but emotional event that tends to occur during times of political uncertainty. He also discusses the crucial role of rumor in triggering riots, the surprisingly limited role of deliberate organization, and the striking lack of remorse exhibited by participants. Horowitz writes clearly and eloquently without compromising the complexity of his subject. With impressive analytical skill, he takes up the important challenge of explaining phenomena that are at once passionate and calculative. |
Contents
The Social Environment for Killing | 9 |
Ethnic Boundaries Riot Boundaries | 43 |
The Riot Episode | 71 |
Selective Targeting | 124 |
Displaced Aggression | 135 |
TargetGroup Characteristics | 151 |
Organizers and Participants | 224 |
The Occasions for Violence | 268 |
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action Africa aggression amok anger antipathy areas Assam Assamese atrocities attacked Bakongo Bengalis Berkowitz Bhiwandi Bombay British Burma Chapter Chinese cities Collective Violence Colombo Commission of Inquiry Communal Riots Communal Violence crowds cultural deadly ethnic riot deadly riots Delhi displaced Eastern Economic Review electoral episodes Ethnic Conflict ethnic groups ethnic violence explain fear Genocide Government Hausa Hindu Hindu-Muslim Riots Horowitz hostility Ibid identity inhibitions interethnic intergroup involved Ivory Coast Journal July June Kano killing Kuala Lumpur Kyrghyz leaders leadership lence London majority Malay Malaysia Mbochi Mohajirs Muslims National Nigeria northern occurred organization Pakistan participants party patterns Penang police Political Weekly precipitating events Princeton University Press produced protest Punjab Rangoon relations Report Riot Inquiry rioters Riots in India role rumors selection September Sikhs Sindhis Singapore Sinhalese Social Psychology societies Sri Lanka Studies Tamils target choice target group theory tion urban victims warfare York Yoruba Zanzibar