TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - Engineering vengeful effervescence: lynching rituals and religious-political power in Pakistan
JO  - British journal of criminology
A1  - Asif, Muhammad
A1  - Weenink, Don
A1  - Mascini, Peter
SP  - 1441
EP  - 1459
VL  - 63
IS  - 6
N2  - Based on case studies of seven (attempted) lynchings in Pakistan, we argue that they can be considered lynching rituals, which are instrumental in a context of political strife. 'Shrpsnd anasr' (agitators) play an important role as ritual engineers; they assemble crowds by spreading rumours and vocalizing accusations, use rhythmic chanting and slogan repetition to generate a shared vengeful mood and focus the crowd's attention on the (fabricated) encroachment of a moral imperative (notably blasphemy). We conclude that the vengeful effervescence generated in lynching rituals strengthens the clientelistic interdependency networks of religious-political leaders. The contribution of our study lies in demonstrating the importance of bodily practices in lynching rituals and their instrumental political value for both masses and political leaders.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0007-0955
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azac106
ID  - ref1
ER  -