| Summary/Abstract |
Ethnic riots are not as unstructured as the literature suggests. There is a clear sequence of events through which violence erupts. This article explains four stages of the build-up to deadly clashes: the triggering incident; the spread of rumours; the emergence of armed mobs; their interaction and the eruption of violence. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork in Jos, Nigeria, the article identifies the mechanisms that define each stage and argues that they need to happen for mass violence to occur. The conclusion reflects on the findings’ theoretical implications as well as their relevance for violence prevention and peacebuilding.
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