When Riot Cops Are not Enough
The Policing and Repression of Occupy Oakland
Published on 9. March 2017
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-0-8135-8374-7 (ISBN)
Description
In When Riot Cops Are Not Enough, sociologist and activist Mike King examines the policing, and broader political repression, of the Occupy Oakland movement during the fall of 2011 through the spring of 2012. King's active and daily participation in that movement, from its inception through its demise, provides a unique insider perspective to illustrate how the Oakland police and city administrators lost the ability to effectively control the movement.
Drawn from King's intensive field work, the book focuses on the physical, legal, political, and ideological dimensions of repression-in the streets, in courtrooms, in the media, in city hall, and within the movement itself-When Riot Cops Are Not Enough highlights the central role of political legitimacy, both for mass movements seeking to create social change, as well as for governmental forces seeking to control such movements. Although Occupy Oakland was different from other Occupy sites in many respects, King shows how the contradictions it illuminated within both social movement and police strategies provide deep insights into the nature of protest policing generally, and a clear map to understanding the full range of social control techniques used in North America in the twenty-first century.
Drawn from King's intensive field work, the book focuses on the physical, legal, political, and ideological dimensions of repression-in the streets, in courtrooms, in the media, in city hall, and within the movement itself-When Riot Cops Are Not Enough highlights the central role of political legitimacy, both for mass movements seeking to create social change, as well as for governmental forces seeking to control such movements. Although Occupy Oakland was different from other Occupy sites in many respects, King shows how the contradictions it illuminated within both social movement and police strategies provide deep insights into the nature of protest policing generally, and a clear map to understanding the full range of social control techniques used in North America in the twenty-first century.
Reviews / Votes
"Clear, concise, and compelling, When Riot Cops Are Not Enough is not only a deep and rich narrative, but an extremely valuable piece of ethnographic research." - Patrick Gillham (department of sociology, Western Washington University) "As a piece of public sociology, the book furthers understanding of the policies and the politics of repression and social control." (American Journal of Sociology) "Clear, concise, and compelling, When Riot Cops Are Not Enough is not only a deep and rich narrative, but an extremely valuable piece of ethnographic research." - Patrick Gillham (department of sociology, Western Washington University) "As a piece of public sociology, the book furthers understanding of the policies and the politics of repression and social control." (American Journal of Sociology) "By charting the tight interplay of resistance and repression that connects the murder of Oscar Grant to the Occupy Movement in Oakland and beyond, Mike King's book provides an essential weapon for our collective arsenal." - George Ciccariello-Maher (author of We Created Chavez) "By charting the tight interplay of resistance and repression that connects the murder of Oscar Grant to the Occupy Movement in Oakland and beyond, Mike King's book provides an essential weapon for our collective arsenal." - George Ciccariello-Maher (author of We Created Chavez) "Mike King has produced a fascinating study of the repression of Occupy Oakland. His groundbreaking analysis makes sense of one of the most significant political episodes in recent American history. This is a compelling demonstration of what theoretically informed activist research can achieve." - Andrej Grubacic (author of Living at the Edges of Capitalism) "Mike King has produced a fascinating study of the repression of Occupy Oakland. His groundbreaking analysis makes sense of one of the most significant political episodes in recent American history. This is a compelling demonstration of what theoretically informed activist research can achieve." - Andrej Grubacic (author of Living at the Edges of Capitalism)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Brunswick NJ
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
13 photographs
Dimensions
Height: 213 mm
Width: 146 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
435 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8135-8374-7 (9780813583747)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2017
1st Edition
Rutgers University Press
€104.99
Available for download
Person
MIKE KING is an assistant professor of criminal justice at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts.
Content
Acknowledgments
1 The Commune by the Bay: The Origins of Occupy Oakland
2 From Permits to Storm Troopers: Repression, Social Control, and the Governmentality of Protest
3 The Oakland Commune, Police Violence, and Political Opportunity
4 Legitimation Repression through Depoliticizing It: Federal Coordination, "Health and Safety," and the November 2011 Occupy Evictions
5 Putting the Occupy Oakland Vigil to Sleep: Anti-Gang Techniques and the Oakland Police Department's State of Exception
6 The Meshing of Force and Legitimacy in the Repression of Occupy Oakland's Move-In Day
7 Poison in the Garden: A Spring of Seeds That Never Grew?
8 Beyond Control: Fostering Legitimate Counter-Conduct
Notes
References
Index
1 The Commune by the Bay: The Origins of Occupy Oakland
2 From Permits to Storm Troopers: Repression, Social Control, and the Governmentality of Protest
3 The Oakland Commune, Police Violence, and Political Opportunity
4 Legitimation Repression through Depoliticizing It: Federal Coordination, "Health and Safety," and the November 2011 Occupy Evictions
5 Putting the Occupy Oakland Vigil to Sleep: Anti-Gang Techniques and the Oakland Police Department's State of Exception
6 The Meshing of Force and Legitimacy in the Repression of Occupy Oakland's Move-In Day
7 Poison in the Garden: A Spring of Seeds That Never Grew?
8 Beyond Control: Fostering Legitimate Counter-Conduct
Notes
References
Index