Public Disorders: Theory and Practice

Public disorder, interpreted as a nuisance by some, is a sign of democratic vitality and innovation for others. Depending on context, it takes many forms. Hooligans, gangs, rioters, and radical groups engage in violent rituals. A breakdown of order allows opportunistic action. Failed negotiations or broken organized social processes, themselves devoid of violence, may lead to coordinated destruction or scattered attacks. Police are an essential piece in the dramaturgy of disorder, and their responses reflect what they have been trained to do and what is institutionally sanctioned. Theories of public disorder and related hypotheses address causes (the relative deprivation theory, the broken windows hypothesis) and dynamics (mobilization of resources, the spark and tinder metaphor, the flashpoint model). The interactionist/comprehensive perspective is also relevant, as it examines how routine relations may be modified by the operation of multiple forces that, in the course of fluid and undetermined situations, come together to produce public disorder in a modified context. In sum, public disorders can make a difference and cause lasting changes; some of them, as signs of democratic vitality, benefit the environments where they occur.