Mustafa Dikeç
Mustafa Dikeç - author and professor of Urban studies, Malmö University.
"Riots do not arise out of nothing"
- The circumstances behind writing my book Urban Rage were the series of riots and demonstrations that have taken place in Sweden, USA, France, Turkey and many other countries in recent years. My interest probably started with the riots in Husby in 2013, and in my research I have tried to explain and understand their motives and reasons.
- Not all riots can be explained in the same way, but I think there are some basic common denominators: inequality, polarization, exclusion, discrimination, and even police violence.
- Riots are usually an expression of difficulties and injustices that have become routine. People do not go out on the street and protest against something that happens once or twice. But when it happens repeatedly, it finally reaches a point when dissatisfaction explodes. Take the latest Black Lives Matter protests in the United States. They were triggered by George Floyd being killed by the police, but it was far from the first time that a black man was killed by the police in the United States.
- Basically, it is a failure of a democratic society. The problems are deeply rooted and there are no easy solutions. Part of the problem is economic inequality, and I think that is something that politicians need to do something about. Another problem is that people in some stigmatized areas do not feel that they are being listened to. Politicians try to do things for them but not with them, which often only reinforces the feeling of exclusion.
- Awareness, that is what we as researchers try to achieve. When a riot occurs, people usually react with disgust and don’t understand. What is the meaning of violence and destruction? But riots do not arise out of nothing, there must be an explanation and a reason why they happen and that is what we researchers are trying to find.
- Riots are a recurring phenomenon. They will happen again and again if the problems and underlying causes are not addressed. I believe that both economic and political measures are needed. If economic inequality is not addressed, political solutions will not be sufficient.