Seattle and its aftershock : some implications for theory and practice

This article focuses on policing and related theoretical developments in the wake of the infamous ‘Battle of Seattle’, when police and hundreds of protesters engaged in fierce confrontation resulting in the temporary suspension of the World Trade summit meeting of 1999. In particular, the article dwells on the implications of evolving police strategies and tactics for handling transnational protest, and ways of theorising these changes and their possible contribution to collective violence, for the Flashpoints Model of Public Disorder. It emphasises how post-Seattle developments reinforce the need for a new ‘level of analysis’ within the model's framework, highlighting the significance of key institutional factors. This revised model is briefly used to identify police crowd-management techniques conducive to the maintenance of public order.