V2I11P29

Crowd Psychology in the Context of Civil Unrest

Dr. Srđan Stajić¹, Dr. Vlado Širić^2*, Dr. Melvedin Jašarević³

Abstract

Most people adhere to legal moral standards. However, even many who consider themselves to be decent citizens break some of the regulations, and their disrespect by the citizens would lead to anarchy. In such a situation, a conflict arises between those who do not respect these legal regulations and those who are legally responsible for their implementation. The police, as part of the security system, is authorized to use force and other repressive measures in accordance with the law in case of need in order to protect the freedoms and lives of citizens, as well as the constitutional and legal order of the state. In order to achieve this, the police must be prepared and trained to suppress civil disorders and riots on a larger scale, which often have a destructive and criminal character. Seen from the point of view of state security, civil disturbances represent one of the most extreme forms of struggle that directly threaten public order and peace, the security of citizens and property, as well as the vital interests of a state. Because of all these characteristics and the consequences that arise from them, it is clear that this is one of the very important problems that the police must confront. The peace, stability and security of a country depend to a large extent on the ability of its organs to apply national laws and effectively maintain public order and peace.  The key element of this entire problem is the individual and his behavior in the group and the crowd. Therefore, in order to carry out the tasks of establishing control over civil disturbances, it is necessary to understand the phenomena of behavior of individuals, groups and masses, which are manifested in situations of civil disturbances. Consequently, the topic of my seminar work is the mass and the psychology of the mass, with which I will try to give you certain information, in order to better understand the essence of these phenomena, the way they are organized, the types, the tactics of their action, etc., all with the aim of a more successful fight against these phenomena.

Keywords:

Psychology, Civil unrest