Injustice, be it procedural, retributive, or restorative, can propel the crowd into different forms of collective action. This dissertation explores the motivations and responses that crowds undertake in response to perceived injustices using a sequential exploratory research design. The dissertation uses multicase research to investigate the injustices against which crowds (broadly defined) are fighting and provides nuances into each type of injustice. Focusing on these cases, the research adapts and applies Hirschman's Exit, Voice and Loyalty theory to provide a typological model connecting injustices to crowd response types. Second, a series of linear, logistic and multinominal regression models using newly collected nationally representative data show the associations between perceived injustices and support for responses of various types. The research contributes a theoretical model for understanding responses to injustices which advances the discussion about the public's role in fighting injustice within society. / Doctor of Philosophy / People can react in all manner to injustices. They might march in the streets demanding justice, inform police of the identities of wrongdoers, or bury a sexual offender alive. This dissertation connects these seemingly disjointed occurrences and investigates the diverse perceived injustices (retributive, procedural and restorative) behind such actions. It examines multiple case studies of initiatives by the crowd from around the global to illustrate the nuances in the perceived injustices. The research also adapts the Hirschman's Exit, Voice and Loyalty framework about failing companies and States to connect what appears to be a random assortment of actions. Using the findings from the multiple case studies, the dissertation tests using a series of statistical models whether perceived injustices among the general US population lead to increased support for certain ways in which the crowd can fight for justice.

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Emerging technological trends have opened the possibilities for information manipulation across multiple platforms resulting in a power shift from the state to its citizens. This study takes on three cases as exemplars which will demonstrate how technology fabricates power in liberal states, causing a power dynamics shift. Each of the case studies will illustrate how technological vigilantism in one form or another allows for the citizen emancipation. The erosion of the relationship between the perpetrator and victim will also be discussed as private and public tracking devices becomes widespread. The initial findings suggest that the introduction of private software tracking has amplified the rate at which the state's monopoly over security and surveillance is eroding. Representing three key sections of a society - public, private, and civil - the cases analyzed show that each section is moving towards micromanagement meaning that citizens are taking the law into their own hands, despite high police competency. Find My iPhone, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, as well as other social networks and tracking software help support the rise of technology vigilantes. The state's monopoly over security and surveillance is in turmoil. Thus, this multi-case study will take on a discussion between two potential...

Vigilantism is an underdeveloped concept in scholarly discourse, particularly within the field of philosophy. My definition of vigilantism is: private citizens who engage in illegal coercive activity, against alleged transgressors of some normative code. Vigilantes seek to fulfill some conception of justice, and in doing so, they presume upon the state's authority. This definition excludes similar activities, like police brutality or terrorism. It also improves upon earlier definitions from other scholars. There are many potential objections to the practice of vigilantism as a whole, and there are many examples of unjustified, immoral vigilantism. However, vigilantism can be morally justified under the following circumstances: a breakdown of the legal system, protection of vulnerable individuals, proportional punishments, fair treatment, attempts to mend the larger social issues, and the advancement of justice. Depending on the particular circumstances, vigilantism can be morally justified, morally optimal, or unjustified. Since I can only provide a cursory examination of vigilantism, these ideas need more rigorous investigation and development. Further discussion on this subject is very important, given our volatile political climate. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / Vigilantism requires more careful discussion in scholarly discourse, particularly given recent political developments in Canada and the United States. Although there is some earlier material on the subject, it is inconsistent and scattered across academic fields. Within this thesis, I develop a philosophical definition of vigilantism, and discuss how it differs things like terrorism or police brutality. I also develop a preliminary account of the morality of vigilantism, exploring several reasonable concerns with the practice as a whole. In spite of these issues, vigilantism can be morally justified under a particular set of circumstances, which are difficult but not impossible to fulfill. However, there is much more work to be done on the subject, in order to develop a robust understanding of vigilantism.

The Gulabi Gang is a feminist vigilante based in northern India. They are known as a group that uses physical violence to fight systems of oppressive power. The idea of a Gulabi Gang vigilante, interacting with the people and the state will be discussed, while incorporating John Locke’s social contract theory into the argument as a way to critique vigilantism, or as a basis of critique to then argue why the Gulabi Gang’s vigilantism is necessary. After both sides of argument are weighed, possible solutions of how the Gulabi Gang can better their organization will be discussed in the concluding chapter.

With the explosion of social media, consumers are gaining control in social reach and can utilize online platforms to create and share misleading information when doing so helps to meet an end. This dissertation, consisting of three separate essays, represents an attempt to address how misleading information is created, how it is disseminated, and how it can be eliminated. Essay One (Chapter 2) uses a mixed-method approach to explore the Dark Triad, proactivity, and vigilantism in driving self-created misleading information sharing. Additionally, this essay introduces a dual-process model of inoculation theory to the marketing and consumer literature that shows how consumers autoinoculate when building justification to engage in malicious behavior. This process includes both automatic and analytical components that initiate a Negative Cascade. Without a larger number of posts, these initial messages may be overlooked. However, herd inoculation can develop when a message begins to sway larger groups. Essay Two (Chapter 3) determines that authentic messages from the original poster are most believable and most likely to initiate a Negative Cascade. This confirmation through mere exposure can then initiate herd inoculation as it flows to other consumers and develops further credibility. The implicit bystander effect is active when in the presence of larger groups. Findings suggest herd inoculation may go unbroken since posters exposed to a positive counter-cascade are less likely to both participate in a forum and post positive messages. Essay Three (Chapter 4) shows that when a consumer shares a message that develops into a Negative Cascade, additional effort is required to halt the consumer herd inoculation. The studies uncover the need for an overt response from the original poster to stop future sharing of misleading information and the role of brand-enacted quarantines in the prevention of the autoinoculation of consumer vigilantes. This dissertation shows how one message can become a much bigger problem for a brand when misinformation spreads. Insights within the dissertation provide numerous outlets for future research and numerous tools and recommendations for both academics and practitioners that hope to understand how misleading information is created, disseminated, and can be eliminated.

Digital vigilantism är ett fenomen som växer och blir mer och mer populärt (Chia, 2018; Yardley, Lynes, Wilson, & Kelly, 2016). Digitala vigilantister har under ett flertal tillfällen misslyckats i att korrekt identifiera både förövare och offer i händelser som omger socialt oönskade handlingar (Trottier, 2016; Yardley et al., 2016). Denna studie avser att använda konceptdriven designforskning (Stolterman & Wiberg, 2010) för att utveckla ett koncept som ska förbättra precisionen av utredningar genomförda av digitala vigilantister. Konceptet som presenteras i denna studie är en interaktiv videospelare som tillåter användare att navigera i videomaterial genom att interagera direkt med objekt i videorna. På detta vis ska känslan av position och riktning förhöjas. Resultat i denna studie utgörs av nya insikter av aspekter som behövs hållas i åtanke vid skapande av koncept för denna målgrupp. Detta inkluderar den komplexa etiska problametik som uppstår kring socialt oönskade handlingar och utredningar av dessa handlingar. / Digital vigilantism is a phenomenon that is growing and gaining more popularity (Chia, 2018; Yardley et al., 2016). This practice has in various occasions failed to correctly identify both victims and perpetrators in events surrounding socially undesirable acts(Trottier, 2016; Yardley et al., 2016). This study aims to use Concept driven design research (Stolterman & Wiberg, 2010) to develop a concept that will enhance the precision of the investigative research performed by digital vigilantists. The concept presented in this study is an interactive video player that allows users to navigate through video by interacting directly with objects in the video and enhancing the sense of position and direction. This study results in new insights of aspects to take in mind when creating a concept for this particular target group, this includes the complex ethical aspects that arises when dealing with socially undesirable acts and the public investigation of these.

San Luis Obispo, California was a violent place in the 1850s with numerous murders and lynchings in staggering proportions. This thesis studies the rise of violence in SLO, its causation, and effects. The vigilance committee of 1858 represents the culmination of the violence that came from sweeping changes in the region, stemming from its earliest conquest by the Spanish. The mounting violence built upon itself as extensive changes took place. These changes include the conquest of California, from the Spanish mission period, Mexican and Alvarado revolutions, Mexican-American War, and the Gold Rush. The history of the county is explored until 1863 to garner an understanding of the borderlands violence therein.

This paper provides a closer analysis of the discourse in doxing in a sample of digital and printed US and European media with a particular focus on the Capitol riots. The analysis centers around the following questions: How is doxing portrayed? How are its victims and perpetrators portrayed? What expressions about doxing appear depending on who performs the act versus being exposed? When it comes to how doxing is valued in the discourse, there are three categories that determine how the discourse is portrayed. (1) Who is behind the doxing? (2) who is the target of doxing? (3) What is the purpose of doxing? These categories work in symbiosis with each other. A positive notion of the doxxer, a negative notion about the person being doxxed and a justified purpose is needed for it to be valued in the discourse. Two main types of doxing could be distinguished that are framed in different ways in the discourse, doxing for malicious purposes and doxing for political purposes. In relation to the U.S capitol riots, Doxing was recontextualized. The change is explained trough (Re-) definition, a ‘theoretical legitimation’ strategy where actions are legitimized through defining an action in terms of ‘another, moralized activity’.

[pt] A tese analisa as relações entre crime e comportamento político na América Latina. O capítulo 1 realiza uma análise de mediação causal do efeito do medo do crime sobre o apoio à democracia, testando se a satisfação com a democracia media a associação entre medo e apoio. O capítulo 2 se dedica à análise da relação entre o medo do crime e duas dimensões da punitividade – apoio ao endurecimento da legislação penal e apoio à pena de morte. O capítulo 3 avalia o efeito do sofrimento de um crime sobre o apoio dos indivíduos a iniciativas privadas de combate à criminalidade, o chamado vigilantismo. O terceiro capítulo testa também se o efeito da vitimização pelo crime sobre o apoio ao vigilantismo ocorre através da confiança no sistema de justiça. A tese chega a algumas conclusões: 1) que indivíduos com maior medo do crime estão, em geral, menos satisfeitos com o funcionamento da democracia e, por isso, reduzem seu apoio à democracia; 2) que pessoas que sentem mais medo de sofrerem crimes são mais favoráveis ao endurecimento da legislação penal e à pena de morte; 3) que a associação entre medo e punitividade é mais forte entre indivíduos com baixa confiança na justiça do que naqueles com alta; 4) que vítimas de crimes, em média, apoiam mais práticas de vigilantismo; 5) que a associação entre sofrer um crime e o apoio ao vigilantismo é parcialmente explicada pela diminuição da confiança no sistema de justiça causada pela vitimização. Para chegar a essas conclusões, o trabalho utiliza dados do Barômetro das Américas (Lapop) de anos e países variados, além de diversas técnicas estatísticas. Os capítulos 1 e 2 aplicaram modelos com efeitos fixos para analisar múltiplos países da América Latina simultaneamente, com um estudo de mediação no capítulo 1. O capítulo 3 também empregou uma técnica de análise causal, mas utilizando uma nova abordagem, a regressão com resíduos (RWR), com dados observacionais do Brasil. / [en] This dissertation analyzes the associations between crime and political behavior in Latin America. Chapter 1 performs a causal mediation analysis of the effect of fear of crime on support for democracy, testing if satisfaction with democracy mediates the association between fear and support. Chapter 2 examines the relations betwixt fear of crime and two different dimensions of punitiveness – support for harsher punishments for criminals and approval of the death penalty. Chapter 3 investigates the effect of crime victimization on support for vigilantism. It also studies whether trust in the justice system mediates the association between crime victimization and support for vigilantism. The dissertation reaches a few conclusions. First, individuals who are more fearful of crime are less satisfied with democracy and, because of it, decrease their support for the regime. Second, persons who exhibit higher fear of crime are more supportive of harsher sentences and the death penalty. Third, the association between fear and support for harsher sentences is stronger among low trust individuals and weaker among high trust ones. Fourth, crime victims, overall, display more support for vigilantism than non-victims. Fifth, the effect of victimization on support for vigilantism is mediated by trust in the justice system, i.e., being a crime victim lowers confidence, enhancing support for vigilantism. This dissertation used data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (Lapop) for different countries and years to achieve these results. It also applied multiple statistical techniques. Chapters 1 and 2 used fixed-effects models to analyze data from numerous Latin American countries simultaneously, with a causal mediation analysis in chapter 1. Chapter 3 also employed a causal mediation analysis, but using a novel approach, the regression-with-residuals (RWR), with observational data from Brazil.