Ferguson Violence Trap Case Study

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Recommended: The impact of civic engagement in society

Civil society is a crucial component for adjusting the degenerating structures of the West. As Ferguson illustrate, the problem comes from “within it: the legislature, the regulatory agencies, and the legal system itself”. Elites inside these institutions are unable or unwilling to reform. Similar to the “violence trap” proposed by North, Weingast, and Cox, institutional change requires elite to change, but they are constrained by the state of those structures. Thus, breaking that cycle requires an outside force and in this case, the power must come from civil society. In agreement with Ferguson’s argument, citizenship goes beyond voting and following the laws, it is also about becoming part of the “wider group” of people that has the capabilities

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