Constructions of the etiology and (re)production of police violence in interviews with young adults


Published: Apr 1, 2024
Keywords:
Police violence, Greek police, Discourse analysis, Legitimization of violence, State violence
Anna Maria Boutzi
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4113-5628
Loukas Stamataros
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4787-3306
Lia Figgou
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5758-6936
Abstract

This study aimed to explore ways of constructing police violence in the discourse of young adults in Greece. The focus was, in particular, on the construction of causality and the rhetorical and ideological implications of these constructions. The data consisted of transcripts of 17 individual interviews which were conducted online, due to COVID-19 regulations at that time. The analysis was based on the principles of critical discursive social psychology and demonstrated four main argumentative lines that participants used to account for police violence: The first emphasized personality and individual differences, the second police culture and training procedures, the third the role of police as a state institution and the fourth approached violence as a result of intergroup conflict. Participants’ rhetorical constructions and strategies were discussed in terms of the constructions of agency they involved and their potential to castigate but also to legitimize and normalize police violence.

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