Synopses & Reviews
Crisis and Control explains how neoliberal transformations of political and economic systems are militarising the policing of protest, based on a compelling empirical study of police agencies and practices from 1995 until the present.
Lesley J. Wood shows that the increasing role of the security and defense industries, professional police associations, anti-terrorism initiatives and ‘best practices in policing networks have accelerated the use of less lethal weapons, pre-emptive arrests, infiltration and barricading strategies against protesters.
The book uses Bourdieu and Boltanski to analyse court transcripts, police reports, policy, training materials and the conference programs of professional police organisations to argue that police agencies are neither omnipotent strategists, nor simple tools of the elite, but institutions struggling to maintain legitimacy, resources and autonomy in a changing field.
Synopsis
Crisis and Control explains how neoliberal shifts in political and economic systems are transforming the policing of protest, based on a compelling empirical study of police agencies and practices from 1995 until the present.
Lesley J. Wood shows that the increasing role of the security and defense industries, professional police associations, anti-terrorism initiatives and the diffusion of 'best practices' amongst policing networks have accelerated the use of less lethal weapons, pre-emptive arrests and barricading strategies against protesters.
Crisis and Control uses novel theoretical and methodological approaches and a unique range of empirical data to make an important and radical contribution to a growing field.
Synopsis
Rankin offers a critique of neo-liberal ideology, showing how global capital impacts on local culture, economies and social structures.
About the Author
Lesley Wood is Associate Professor of Sociology at York University in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of Direct Action, Deliberation and Diffusion (2012) and co-author of the third edition of Social Movements 1768-2012. She is an activist in the global justice and anti-poverty movements.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Policing of Protest 1995-2012
Chapter Three: Transformation of Forces
Chapter Four: Experts, Agencies and Global Integration
Chapter Five: Protest as Threat
Chapter Six: Urine Filled Supersoakers - Intelligence Led Policing and Overpolicing of Protest
Chapter Seven: Officers Under Attack - The Thin Blue Line and the Diffusion of Pepper Spray
Chapter Eight: Fighting Back