Routing ethnic violence in a divided city

Walking in the footsteps of armed mobs in Jos, Nigeria

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4253281
AutoresKingsley L Madueke (0000-0003-1976-5815, University of Amsterdam, autor de correspondencia)
Año2018
Volumen56
Número3
Páginas443-470
Fecha de publicación2018-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Journal of Modern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-278X • E-ISSN: 1469-7777
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0022278x18000320
OpenAlexW2887139056
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas42

Scholars of ethnic riots disagree on which are more susceptible to collective violence between ethnically segregated and diverse socio-spatial settings. Studies of riot-prone cities have produced contradictory conclusions. This article proposes that the ambivalence stems in part from disregarding the mobile nature of armed mobs and conflating their origins with their locations of violence. Drawing upon extensive ethnographic fieldwork involving mobile interviews, in-depth discussions and visual documentation, the article maps the footsteps of armed mobs from their origins to sites of confrontation during the 2008 Christian-Muslim riots in Jos, Nigeria. Findings suggest both segregated and mixed settlements contributed to violence. While armed mobs were likelier to originate from segregated neighbourhoods, mixed settlements, especially those sandwiched between segregated ones, served as frontiers for fighting; armed mobs preferred narrow alleys inaccessible to security forces. These findings' implications can advance the understanding and management of ethnic riots in urban areas

Ambivalence · Archaeology · Criminology · Ethnic Cleansing · Ethnic group · Ethnically diverse · Ethnography · Geography · Human settlement · Political science · Sociology · Anthropology · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Gender Studies · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology · South Asian Studies and Conflicts