Vigilantes: Extralegal Justice, Social Control, and Violence

(Hardback)

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Motivated by recent instances of vigilantism that have captured media attention, such as the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, Drs. Castle and Meade examine vigilantism through historical contexts, popular culture, and modern technologies. From vigilantes presence in the frontier and early states, to their contemporary manifestations in Neighborhood Watch and digital cybersleuthing, Castle and Meade characterize the evolution of the vigilante narrative and vigilantes' purpose of social group control.
This book considers the impacts of vigilante mythology in American pop culture, with special emphasis on the early Western vigilante to the urban vigilante, like Dirty Harry and Death Wish, to comic book superheroes like Batman. How do these fictional characters who beat down and murder criminals on film impact cultural messages about crime, justice, and vengeance
Castle and Meade further explore the impact of digital technologies and novel viruses on vigilantism. "Digilantes" administer their own brand of extralegal justice online by hunting pedophiles, and TikTok cybersleuths harass random strangers. The authors also coin a new term, "viralantes," to describe virus vigilantes who police and punish the frontiers of pandemic lockdowns and restrictions. This seminal work on vigilantism blends the scholarly and popular in characterizing the modern vigilante.

Reviews

A highly useful book on vigilantism. Although the main focus is on the American tradition of vigilantism, it also provides a broad discussion and examples of this global phenomenon. -- Tore Bjrgo, University of Oslo; director, Center for Research on Extremism; and co-editor of Vigilantism against Migrants and Minorities
Taimi Castle and Benjamin Meades Vigilantes: Extralegal Justice, Social Control, and Violence will challenge and expand the way you think about vigilantism. Global in scope yet capturing the particular aspects of American culture that drive public imagination about vigilantism, this book carefully situates the concept of vigilantism in relation to the state. In particular, the authors scrupulously consider the extralegal nature of vigilantism, state complicity, and the tendency of group vigilantism to target the disadvantaged as a means to reinforce and maintain structural inequalities. -- Nickie Phillips, St. Francis College, co-author of Comic Book Crime: Truth, Justice, and the American Way and author of Beyond Blurred Lines: Rape Culture in Popular Media
Castle and Meade offer an informative overview of vigilantism that is embedded in history, politics, and popular culture. Vigilantes's timely and critical approach will enable readers to better understand the appeal and impact of extralegal justice-seeking. -- Daniel Trottier, Erasmus University Rotterdam; co-author of Digital Media, Denunciation and Shaming: The Court of Public Opinion

Author Bio

Taimi L. Castle, PhD, is professor of Justice Studies and director of the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence at James Madison University.
Benjamin D. Meade, PhD, is associate professor of Justice Studies at James Madison University.