Re-reading the England Riots

Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1.3 DISPOSITION

1.4 LITERATURE REVIEW

2 THEORETICAL APPROACH

2.1 THE SUBJECT IN LACANIAN PSYCHOANALYSIS

2.2 THE DISCURSIVE OEDIPUS COMPLEX

2.3 TRANSGRESSION AND LAW, THE OTHER AND ENJOYMENT

2.4 THE REAL

2.5 SYMBOLIC AUTHORITY OR GENERALISED PERVERSION

3 RESEARCH STRATEGY

3.1 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH

3.1.1 EPISTEMOLOGY AND ONTOLOGY IN PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

3.1.2 MY ROLE AS RESEARCHER

3.2 MATERIAL AND DATA COLLECTION METHOD

3.3 RESEARCH METHOD

3.3.1 THE ABSTRACT AND CONCRETE UNIVERSAL

3.3.2 DISCURSIVE STRATEGIES

4 DISCUSSION

4.1 CRIMINALITY

4.1.1 THE PROMISE OF WHOLENESS AND DISAVOWAL

4.1.2 EXTERNAL ANTAGONISM

4.2 MORAL DECLINE

4.2.1 THE PROMISE OF WHOLENESS AND DISAVOWAL

4.2.2 EXTERNAL ANTAGONISM

4.3 THE PATERNAL CRISES

4.3.1 THE PROMISE OF WHOLENESS AND DISAVOWAL

4.3.2 EXTERNAL ANTAGONISM

4.4 INEQUALITY

4.4.1 THE PROMISE OF WHOLENESS AND DISAVOWAL

4.4.2 EXTERNAL ANTAGONISM

5 CONCLUSION

6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

6.1 THEORETICAL APPROACH

6.2 KEY FINDINGS

Research Objectives and Core Themes

This study investigates how the explanations of the 2011 England riots are presented as largely apolitical by examining them through a psychoanalytic framework. The research seeks to problematize the common narratives surrounding the riots and explore how these explanations function to obscure their political dimensions by displacing causes onto specific groups.

• Psychoanalytic discourse analysis using the concepts of Slavoj Žižek and Jacques Lacan.
• Examination of discursive strategies, including disavowal, external antagonism, and the promise of wholeness.
• Deconstruction of four major explanations: criminality, moral decline, dysfunctional families, and inequality.
• Analysis of how the concept of 'Englishness' functions as an empty signifier within these narratives.

Extract from the Book

Summary of Chapters

1 INTRODUCTION: This chapter introduces the context of the 2011 England riots and outlines the study's focus on analyzing the apolitical nature of the common explanations provided for these events.

2 THEORETICAL APPROACH: This chapter establishes the psychoanalytic theoretical framework, drawing on Lacan and Žižek, to explore the interplay between lack, wholeness, and the Other in social discourses.

3 RESEARCH STRATEGY: This section details the methodology used, specifically how data from newspapers and reports were analyzed as discourses, employing the concept of discursive strategies.

4 DISCUSSION: This central chapter applies the theoretical framework to four dominant explanations of the riots—criminality, moral decline, paternal crises, and inequality—to reveal how they obscure political dimensions.

5 CONCLUSION: This chapter synthesizes the main findings, demonstrating that the explanations function by externalizing causes to maintain an apolitical status quo, reinforcing the idea that the riots are an internal consequence of Englishness.

6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This chapter provides a condensed overview of the entire study, summarizing the research objective, the psychoanalytic framework utilized, and the key findings derived from the analysis.

Keywords

Psychoanalysis, England riots, Slavoj Žižek, Jacques Lacan, the Other, Englishness, discourse analysis, criminality, moral decline, dysfunctional families, inequality, discursive strategies, apolitical, social symptoms, lack.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the core focus of this research?

The research focuses on the 2011 England riots and how various public explanations for these events function to present the causes as apolitical, rather than addressing the underlying political tensions.

What are the central themes examined in the study?

The study examines themes of discourse, desire, and the social construction of reality, specifically using psychoanalytic concepts to analyze how societies deal with internal contradictions and failures.

What is the primary research goal?

The goal is to analyze how explanations of the riots function to create an essentially apolitical understanding of the events, thereby obscuring their true political and socio-economic causes.

Which scientific methodology does the author use?

The author employs a qualitative discourse analysis informed by psychoanalytic theory, particularly the works of Slavoj Žižek and Jacques Lacan, to perform a "symptomatic reading" of the material.

What topics are covered in the main section of the book?

The main part analyzes four dominant explanatory discourses: criminality, moral decline, paternal crises, and inequality, showing how each utilizes specific strategies to externalize problems.

Which key concepts characterize this work?

Key concepts include the Oedipus complex, the Real, the Symbolic, the Other, enjoyment (jouissance), disavowal, and the concept of an empty signifier.

How does the author define the role of "Englishness" in the riots?

The author theorizes "Englishness" as an empty signifier or an "abstract universal" that different explanations attempt to make whole by excluding or externalizing the rioters as a problematic obstacle.

Why does the author argue that the riots cannot be seen as purely "mindless violence"?

The author argues that labeling the riots as mindless or purely criminal is a discursive strategy used to disavow systemic problems, effectively preventing a deeper political analysis of the causes.