When Protests Become Violent: A Conjunctive Analysis of Contextual Factors for Violent and Non-violent Activities

• In Event: Social Movements & Policing

Abstract

Protests have become an especially controversial and relevant topic within the last few years, partly due to mass gatherings like Ferguson or the Baltimore riots. These occurrences were covered heavily in the media as examples of what might happen, should a protest become violent. Instances of protest violence have become a widespread fear for not only citizens, but also police agencies throughout the country.

Using secondary data from the New York Times media reports and the method of conjunctive analysis (Miethe, Hart, and Regoeczi 2008), the current study examines the situational context of protests and the factors that lead to violent consequences. Elements of the situational context include the motivation for the protest, their size and locations, the presence/absence of police, and the nature and severity of injury. The results of this study are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and public policy on police and organizational responses to protest situations.

Author

• Logan P Kennedy, University of Nevada - Las Vegas