This book has been the fruit of many years helping to organise and attend protests and demonstrations, some of which—such as Trafalgar Square in 1990 and Welling in 1993—ended up being labelled as ‘riots’. My academic career started out when living in Bristol, a city whose history is littered with riots. My thanks go to radical historians and sociologists whose work and advice have benefi ted me there: John Lever, Andy Mathers, Steve Poole, Steve Mills, Will Atkinson, Kevin Doogan and Roger Ball. Th anks also to those who helped me gain the work experience to progress: Sean Creaven, Christina Pantazis and Carolyn Brina. I am grateful to Julia Willan at Palgrave Macmillan for commissioning this book and Dominic Walker for helping with its completion as well as the secretarial support and sound advice of my wife, Ali Swindells. Others to be thanked include Simon Sandall, Simon Hallsworth, Steve Hall, John Lea, Brian Richardson, Stephen Mennell and Ryan Powell— and comrades and friends in Southampton including Kate Swindells, Vincenzo Scalia, Bobby Noyes and Glyn Oliver.