ABSTRACT
Given the extensive and well documented history of collective violence in twentieth-century urban America (Gilje 1996; Gurr 1989), some readers may find it surprising to discover that the United States has witnessed only sporadic instances of rioting since the ‘long, hot summers’ of the 1960s, of which the infamous Los Angeles, California riot of 1992 was easily the most destructive and spectacular, and the Cincinnati, Ohio riot of 2001 the most notable to have occurred since the start of the new millennium (Waddington 2007). This chapter is dedicated to exploring the nature and underlying causes of the Cincinnati disorder, and to describing and evaluating an innovative, court-sponsored scheme for promoting more harmonious police-community relations in the so-called Queen City. The purpose of the chapter is to provide a further comparative basis for understanding the French riots and to explore the feasibility of utilising the peacekeeping initiative in the French social context. Each of these aspects of discussion will be returned to in the conclusion of this book.
