Journal Article

A Wave of Lynching: Morality and Authority in Post-Tsunami Aceh

Nussio, Enzo, Clayton, Govinda

2023

Overview

Lynching is a surprisingly prevalent form of collective violence. We argue that two conditions can cause lynching: a shared morality based on salient collective threats, providing justification, and weak authority, creating opportunity. We examine this argument with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. In Aceh, the province most impacted, the tsunami was a shock to morality (producing a religious revival) and authority (creating a situation of institutional flux). Using World Bank data, we find that Aceh saw an increase of lynchings, while lynchings stayed on average the same in other parts of Indonesia. Within Aceh, the increase was most pronounced where authority was most undermined and where locals had high levels of shared morality. These findings have implications for research on collective violence and the prevention of lynching.

• Publisher: City University of New York,Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York
• Subject: Authority / Indonesia / Legitimacy / Lynching / Morality / Natural Disaster / Special Symposium, Collective Vigilantism in Global Comparative Perspective / Violence