Riots, Segregation, and Local Government Actions : A Missing Theoretical Perspective

Abstract

Previous research has convincingly shown that residential segregation and unfavorable political structures are important factors when explaining the occurrence of riots. Still, structural factors such as these cannot, in themselves, explain why riots take place instead of peaceful protests or complete inactivity. In this paper I argue that more scholarly attention should be paid to the immediate triggers of riots, specific events that almost always involve actors within local government institutions of social control —in the form of the police, politicians, or the courts. The actions undertaken by these actors must be considered, because these actions are crucial in causing riot outbreaks and are undertheorized in previous research, I argue. The aim of this paper is to develop this theoretical approach and illustrating the approach with empirical data on the 1992 Los Angeles riot, the most violent riot in the U.S.A. since the 1960s