Rehanna Jones-Boutaleb
As England's cities have burned and slowly simmered to an uncertain calm, the debate over the causes of the country's latest outbreak of civil unrest has heated up. Sparked by the death of Mark Duggan, a Tottenham local shot by police on August 4, the once peaceful protests for justice in front of Tottenham police station have since evolved into disorder and riotous violence, spreading from London to Leeds, Bristol, Liverpool, and Birmingham. On one end of Britain's political spectrum, Labour politician and former London mayor Ken Livingstone has linked the riots to brutal cuts in government spending. On the other end, Prime Minister David Cameron has characterized the violence as "pure criminality." Senior officers of the Metropolitan Police informed Cameron when he returned from his Tuscan holiday on August 8 that criminal gangs largely coordinated the rioting: "we have said consistently that the people doing this are not protesters, they are criminals."
This depiction, however, flies in the face of evidence that many ‘rioters' possessed no criminal background whatsoever. Nor did they all fall into one homogenous category. Those charged have ranged from schoolchildren to professional members of the work force. As one resident of Southall, west London, remarked, children as young as 12 were involved in the attacks in Ealing, and the rioters were also of diverse racial backgrounds: "They were black, white, Indian."
Although some rioters sought to articulate particular grievances, denouncing discriminatory police searches and the elimination of Britain's educational maintenance allowance, others have not attempted to justify their behavior, taking the chaos as an opportunity to steal from local businesses. Reflecting on the looting in Enfield, Labour councilor Chris Bond remarked that "it wasn't anger that I saw, it was more like they thought it was all a big game."
With homes and buildings vandalized, and communities literally reduced to ashes, it has become easy to dismiss the violence on the street as "pure criminality." But such conclusions are naive and insufficient. Viral civil unrest should not be reduced to simple terms; the riots have many different elements. Although some rioters have been plainly motivated by opportunism, social, political, and racial factors are also at play. As journalist and blogger Laurie Penny has argued, few people know why the riots have occurred, and "…they don't know, because they were not watching these communities [Tottenham, Edmonton, Brixton] Nobody has been watching Tottenham since the television cameras drifted away after… 1985."
The latest violence clearly differs from the 1985 Broadwater Farm riots, when fierce racial tensions erupted following the death of Cynthia Jarrett, a local black woman who suffered a fatal stroke during a police raid on her home. But the current riots also have a racial element. The fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, a young black man, should be seen in the context of the Metropolitan Police's longstanding record of discrimination against ethnic minorities. In 2009, a report by Liberal Democrat Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of anti-terrorism laws, confirmed that police were seven times more likely to stop and search black and Asian youths in Britain than whites. The riots have occurred in some of the poorest boroughs of England, in communities where locals have every reason to doubt and despise the forces of law. According to a report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), since 1998, a total of 333 people have died in British police custody, and not a single officer has ever been successfully prosecuted. As journalist Nina Power writes, these figures make it strikingly clear why "the IPCC and the courts are seen by many, quite reasonably, to be protecting the police rather than the people." In one NBC News report, a young Londoner was asked whether he believed that rioting was the correct way to express his anger: "Yes", he replied. "You wouldn't be talking to me now if we didn't riot, would you? Two months ago we marched to Scotland Yard, more than 2,000 of us, all blacks, and it was peaceful and calm and you know what? Not a word in the press. Last night, a bit of rioting and looting and look around you."
There is no all-encompassing meaning to the riots, but there are connections that can and should be made. As reporter Landon Thomas Jr. suggests, the riots indicate widespread resentment toward rising levels of youth unemployment. Currently, at least one million British citizens between the ages of 16 and 24 are officially unemployed. According to a 2010 report by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the UK's record for social mobility is worse than that of any other developed country. Taking a look at the mobility of earnings in 12 developed states, the OECD concluded that Britain showed the strongest link between individual and parental earnings: 50 percent of the economic advantage that high-earning fathers held over low-earning fathers passed to their sons. In Australia and Canada, by contrast, less than 20 percent of this wage advantage passed across generations.
The unrest also took place against a backdrop of brutal government spending cuts and enforced austerity measures. The boroughs that faced the worst looting and violence are among the most impoverished regions in the country. Hackney, for instance, is not only ranked as the most deprived borough in London, but also holds one of the highest national rates of child poverty, with 67 percent children in low-income families. Similarly, Haringey, the borough that includes Tottenham, suffers the fourth highest level of child poverty in London, as well as an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent - nearly double the national average. As the British comedian Russell Brand has commented in his surprisingly cogent and fluid article for The Guardian, "JD Sports is probably easier to desecrate if you can't afford what's in there and the few poorly paid jobs there are taken." With fewer jobs, reduced educational allowance, and cuts to youth services, health, and legal aid, many rioters seem completely disconnected from their communities. Politicians would do well to heed the words of charities and workers, such as Camila Batmanghelidjh, who have spent decades aiding disenfranchised youth. Reflecting on the riots and those responsible for the looting, Batmanghelidjh writes: "Community, they would say, has nothing to offer them. Instead, for years they have experienced themselves cut adrift from civil society's legitimate structures"
Yet more cuts are due to occur.
Councils in London are preparing to slash their budgets by 24 percent over three years – that's 5 billion GBP of cuts by 2014. According to a report by the BBC, this action will "see jobs go in 17 councils" and local services significantly reduced. As protests over UK cuts heated up last March, with protestors demonstrating across central London, the British government released a report, "advocating the provision of more than 300,000 apprenticeships for school leavers, and 15 hours a week of free pre-school education for underprivileged two-year olds. But the government does not show any interest in these strategies. Although many politicians, including the Conservative London mayor Boris Johnson, want to scrap plans to reduce police budgets by 20 percent, opposition to changes in spending cuts remains fierce. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has warned that any deviation from his deficit reduction strategy could "plunge Britain into the financial whirlpool of a sovereign debt crisis." In the wake of the riots, Osborne continues to insist that it would be disastrous to relax the £81bn of spending cuts.
However, those attempting to address the riots and their underlying causes would do well to consider the words of sociologist Zygmunt Bauman: "social rights are indispensible to make political rights ‘real', and keep them in operation." The link between social inequality and the recent riotous violence cannot be ignored. In a country where the richest 10 percent are more than 100 times as wealthy as the poorest 10 percent of the population, the recent violence is by no means apolitical.
- Originally published by Foreign Policy in Focus
Twitter: @ihavenet
- Global Health: Meaty Concerns
- Global Health: A Seminal Moment?
- Human Trafficking: The Wound That Shames Our Present
- How New Atrocity-Prevention Steps Can Work
- 9/11 Anniversary: Rethink Needed
- 9/11 Anniversary: From Empire to Decline
- 9/11 Anniversary: Scanning Bodies, Stripping Rights?
- Assassination as Foreign Policy
- Eurozone Manufacturing Slowing
- European Union Spending Cuts and Tax Hikes Hurt GDP Growth
- Who's Worse Off: Europe or the United States?
- Germany: German Tiger or European Growth Engine?
- Greece Forecasts Economic Contraction to be Worse than Expected
- Collateral Deals will Have Negative Impact on Greece
- Spain Announces Temporary Tax Cut to Stimulate New House Sales
- Eastern Mediterranean Olive Oil Producers Seek Markets in Far East
- High North: The New Frontier
- The Politics of the London Riots
- Young Westerners -- Deprived or Decadent?
- Explanations and Excuses for English Riots
- Many British Households See Steeper Rise in Debt
- Young Turks Returning Home to Chase Economic Dreams
- The Pain in Spain
- Multiculturalism and Dutch Political Culture
- Macedonia Eyes Its Future in Antiquity
- The Saudi Counterrevolution
- Libya Threatens to Become Terrorist Arms Depot
- Libya: Protection Challenge For The Opposition
- Libya After Gadhafi: Transitioning from Rebellion to Rule
- Why Are Some Progressives Gloating over Libya?
- Egypt's Reluctant Rulers
- Fear and Blogging in the Arab world
- Middle East: The Future of Women
- Middle East: Bread and Dignity
- Middle East: Palestine Towards Statehood
- Israeli - Arab Crisis Approaching
- The Upcoming Palestinian Uprising
- Israeli Settlements Keep Middle East Unsettled
- Syrian Opposition Tries to Unite
- Assad Rejects International Calls to Resign
- Obama Calls for Syrian President Assad to Step Down
- Cranking up Pressure on Syria
- Violence in Iraq Raises Questions About American Withdrawal
- Egypt's Brotherhood Declares War on the Bikini
- Labor Pains in Saudi Arabia as Hiring Deadline Nears
- Gulf Markets Worry About Oil Outlook
- Jordanian King Promises Reform to Skeptical Public
- China and the United States' Debt
- China's New Aircraft Carrier Bolsters Its Regional Reach
- China Outpaces United States in PC Market
- Moody's Downgrades Japan Credit Rating Over Deficit Concerns
- Kim Jong-Il Pushes China for New Nuclear Talks
- North Korea's Rare Pledge to Abandon Nuclear Activities
- Indonesia: Pluralism vs Vigilantism
- South Sudan: Labor Pains
- Somalia: Pro-government Rally Held in Mogadishu
- Kenya: 'Perfect Storm' Brewing Among Urban Poor
- Latin America's Security Dilemma
- A President-for-Life in Argentina? Not Likely
- There's Hope for Mexico and Central America
- Chile: The Fight to Make Education a Guaranteed Right
- Death of Layton Poses Challenge for NDP Interim Leader
- Global Economic Downturn: A Crisis of Political Economy
- Crisis of Confidence: Debt Debate Erodes US Global Standing
- United States Debt Downgrade Won't Have Much Short-Term Effect on Foreign Policy
- The Empathy Deficit
- Stiglitz Upbeat About China and Latin America
- China Trade Surplus Rises
- China Sees Inflation Rate Hit 6.5%
- Latin America Not Immune to U.S. Debt Deal
- Is Japan Now a Good Bet?
- Is Germany the New Safe Haven?
- Islam and Arab Political Change
- Iran Reshaping Persian Gulf Politics
- Diplomatic Pressure on Al-Assad Gaining Momentum
- Arab Nations Join Call For Al Assad To Stop Civilian Attacks
- Bahrain and Kuwait recall Syria envoys
- Clinton Says Syrian Government has Lost Legitimacy
- September Looms Large in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
- Israel's Growing Wealth Gap Fuels Economic Anger
- Israel and Cyprus Forging Ahead on Gas Bonanza
- Major Israeli Defense Merger Dropped
- Israel Approves 1,600 Settler Homes in East Jerusalem
- Mini UAV Chopper For Urban Warfare Revealed
- Roman-era Sword Uncovered in Ancient Ditch in Jerusalem
- Hamas: Palestinian Authority is Clamping Down On Our Preachers
- Warnings of 'Somalization' And All Out Civil War in Yemen
- Missing Out on Vital Medicines Because of Economic Crisis
- Jordanians Lash Out Against Planned Nuclear Reactor
- Jordanian Mosque Named After Jesus
- Troop Withdrawal Rests on Decision From Iraq
- Somali Forces and African Union Peacekeepers Gradually Expand Control In Mogadishu
- Somali President: Combat Operations Against Al-Shabaab Will Continue
- Al-Shabab Pullout: The Beginning Of The End in Somalia?
- Africa: Tough Choices As Food Prices Continue To Rise
- Nigeria: Jail Threat for Polio Vaccination Refuseniks
- Congo: Implement Anti-Discrimination Law, Urge Indigenous Peoples
- Congo: High-Tech Measures To Curb Illegal Fishing In Congo
- Raw Sewage Kills in Madagascar
- Tanzania: Violence Against Children Rampant
- Maternal Deaths Quadruple In South Africa
- United States and Pakistan Navigate New Tensions in Fraught Relationship
- Pakistan's Forgotten 2005 Quake Victims Still Need Help
- China Announces Sea Trial Of Its First Aircraft Carrier
- Indonesia's Global Significance
- Seoul Blasts Pyongyang For Fabricating Shelling Incident
- North Korea Planned Assassination of South Korean Defense Minister
- Calls For End To Torture and Extrajudicial Killings By Bangladeshi Police
- Muslim Rebels Seek Substate In Philippines
- DOJ Places Former Philippine President On Immigration Watchlist
- Britain Sticks With Austerity Plan
- Cameron Announces Crackdown On Facemasks
- Norway: The Sky Is Weeping
- Norway Attacks a Tragic Result of Failed Immigration Policies
- Norway: Blaming the Muslims
- Norway: Breivik's Real Enemy: Himself
- Brazil Joins Race for Globalized Students
- OAS Is a Basket Case - but a Needed One
Available at Amazon.com:
Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World
Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East (The Contemporary Middle East)
The End of History and the Last Man
The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics
Copyright 2011, iHaveNet.com - All Rights Reserved