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Joshua Clover 2016 Riot. Strike. Riot: The new era of uprisings, London, Verso Books. ISBN: 978-1-78478059-3
No doubt, riots are on the rise in the West. London, Ferguson, Athens-there's been a significant upswing of violent protests on our streets, flashing across our TV and computer screens in sensationalised bursts. In mainstream discussion, the word "riot" connotes danger, violence, amorality-outbursts that need to be neutralised as quickly as possible so life can return to normal. In fact, the media is so pre-occupied with the violence of riots that it can be difficult for us to notice anything else about them.
In Riot. Strike. Riot: The New Era of Uprisings (2016), Joshua Clover helps us see past the moral panic around violent riots. Throughout this smart, provocative book, the Californian communist provides valuable insight on why riots erupt when and where they do, and why they have emerged in recent years as a crucial mode of rebellion.
One of the book's early revelations is that the media's over-fascination with 'violence' serves to deny the riot's political legitimacy, as well as the rioters' humanity. Clover tells us that the sensationalised rhetoric of the violent riot "...becomes a device of exclusion, aimed not so much against 'violence' but against specific social groups" (2016: 12)....