This article asks how unrest spreads by testing a framework that separates (1) the networks that carry information, (2) whether news of repression changes participation, and (3) the role of organizers. The authors apply this framework to the English Swing riots of 1830–31 and use spatiotemporal variation specific to that historical episode to identify patterns of diffusion. Their contribution is an empirically grounded account of which kinds of ties mattered for riot diffusion and the role of local organizers in that process.
Data and methods
The study uses the English Swing riots of 1830–31 as its empirical setting and exploits spatiotemporal variation particular to that period for identification. The abstract describes a general framework that produces empirical hypotheses about networks, information on repression, and organizers; the authors then test those hypotheses using historical variation in when and where unrest occurred.
Main findings
The authors report that diffusion was empirically important and that information about the riots appears to have traveled through personal and trade networks but not via transport or mass-media networks. The abstract also states that the information driving diffusion was not about repression, and that local organizers played an important role in spreading the riots.
Networks mattered Not repression-driven Local organizers important
- Information flowed through personal and trade ties rather than transport or mass-media connections.
- The content of transmitted information did not appear to be reports of repression.
- Local organizers were central to the diffusion process.
