Preface xiii
A Note on Place Names xvii
1. Say It with Murder 1
The Morphology and Dynamics of Violence 2
The Riot as Cause, Effect, and Process 9
The Forms of Ascriptive Violence 17
Deploying the Data 28
The State of Violence Theory 34
2. Ethnic Boundaries, Riot Boundaries 43
Cognitive and Strategic Bases of Ethnicity 43
The Ontology of the Riot 56
Composing the Decomposable 69
3. The Riot Episode 71
The Rhythm of the Riot 71
Before the Riot: The Critical Role of Rumor 74
Before the Riot: The Lull 89
Preparing for War, Conquering Fear 94
The Atrocity-Killing 109
4. Selective Targeting 124
Precision in Targeting 124
The Aversion to False Positives 128
Target Selection: The Starting Points 131
Strong or Weak Targets? The Question of Displaced Aggression 135
Beyond Displacement: Strong Targets, Weak Moments 148
5. Target-Group Characteristics 151
Reputation for Aggression 151
Traditional Antagonism 155
Opposition in War 162
Political Threat 165
External Affinities Augmenting Internal Strength 172
Psychological Strength 178
Antipathy, Similarity, and Difference 187
6. An Economy of Antipathy
Target Selection and the Imperatives of Violence 194
The Source of the Precipitant and the Choice of Target 197
Riot Leadership and Target Choice 204
Riot Location and Target Choice 220
Targeting: Reflections and Distortions 222
7. Organizers and Participants 224
Indicators of Organization 227
Organizers 229
The Dubious Advantage of Strong Organization 253
The Power of Loose Organization 254
The Legions of Violence 258
The Deadly Riot as a Pickup Game 266
8. The Occasions for Violence 268
Flashpoints: The Events That Precipitate Riots 269
A Parade of Processions 272
Strikes with Ethnic Overtones 290
Divisive Elections 295
Official or Unofficial Alternations of Relative Ethnic Status 308
The Character of Precipitating Events 317
Precipitant-free Riots 323
9. The Social Environment for Killing 326
Interregna 331
The Decline of Multiethnic Parties and Coalitions 334
Fluctuations in Policy 337
Authoritative Tolerance, Acquiescence, or Condonation 343
Biased or Ineffective Instruments of Public Order 352
Inhibition and Disinhibition 359
Absence of Remorse: The Moral Mass Murder 366
10. Location, Diffusion, and Recurrence 374
Location: Differentials in the Fundamentals 376
Propinquity and Urban Bias 381
Site Selection and Risk Aversion 384
The Diffusion of Violence 395
Recidivist Locations 407
Recurrent Riots 411
11. Aims, Effects, and Functions 423
Narrow Aims, Broad Effects 425
Degradation 430
Homogenization 433
Polarization 443
Civil and Secessionist Warfare 446
Contingent Effects 453
The Putative Functions of Violence 458
12. Violence and Quiescence 467
Proof Positive and Proof Negative: The Problem of Variance 468
Theories of Quiescence from the Larger Research Cycle 471
Near-Miss Strategies 477
Alternatives to Riots: Lynching and Burning 479
Alternatives to Riots: Ethnic Terrorism 482
Mild Riots and Near-Riots 485
Ethnic Fights 495
Changes over Time: Nonrecurring Riots 497
Non-Riots 509
The Hunt for the Missing Variables 512
Paths to Prevention 513
13. The Calculus of Passion 522
Convening the Killing Crowd: A Causal Account 523
Strategic and Rationalist Approaches to Ethnic Violence 545
Reason and Passion: Hypervigilance, Circumspection, and Being of More Than One Mind 555
The Decline of the Deadly Ethnic Riot in the West 560
Index 567
