Social and Psychological Reasons behind Mob-Justice

 

Recently in Bangladesh, a mob justice incident occurred at Dhaka University on September 19, 2024, where a man named Tofazzal Hossain was beaten to death by students at Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall. He was suspected of being a thief, and a group of university students assaulted him before the university’s proctorial team took him to the police instead of the hospital. He was later declared dead. Four students involved in the attack were arrested, and a murder investigation is ongoing to ensure justice for the victim. [Daily Star 19/9/2024]

Mob justice is a complex phenomenon with deep social and psychological roots. It occurs when individuals, driven by shared emotions and frustrations, form a group to take justice into their own hands, bypassing legal systems. Several social and psychological factors contribute to the rise of mob justice in a society.

While mob justice may provide a sense of immediate resolution for some, it is typically criticized for leading to violent, unjust, and often erroneous actions that can harm innocent people, as it lacks the protections of due process and legal safeguards.

 

Social Reasons Behind Mob Justice:

Weak Legal Institutions: In societies where law enforcement is slow, corrupt, or ineffective, people may lose faith in the ability of the justice system to provide fair and timely punishment. The absence of effective legal recourse can push citizens to form mobs and enforce justice themselves.

Community Solidarity and Collective Identity: In tightly knit communities, individuals are more likely to band together to protect or avenge their own. This is often driven by a sense of shared identity and loyalty, where an offense against one member of the community is seen as an offense against all.

Social Inequality and Injustice: In highly unequal societies, where marginalized communities feel that the formal justice system only serves the rich and powerful, mob justice can emerge as an alternative. It becomes a means of asserting control or restoring a sense of justice in the face of systemic inequality.

Cultural Norms and Tradition: In some cultures, there is a history of resolving conflicts through communal or tribal mechanisms outside of formal legal systems. Even in the presence of modern courts, traditional methods of justice can persist, making mob justice an accepted norm.

Frustration with Formal Legal Systems: In many cases, people resort to mob justice when they believe that the legal system is too slow, corrupt, or ineffective at delivering justice. This can happen in regions where law enforcement is perceived as being unresponsive or incapable of adequately addressing crime.

Social Pressure and Collective Emotions: Mob justice is often fuelled by strong emotions like anger, fear, or a desire for revenge. When a group feels wronged or threatened, individuals within the mob may act in ways they wouldn't alone, driven by the collective mindset and fear of inaction.

Distrust in Authorities: Where the government, police, or judicial systems are seen as unreliable or biased, people might feel that their only option is to take matters into their own hands. This is common in places with weak state presence or high levels of corruption.

Lack of Legal Education: In some communities, people may not fully understand or trust formal legal procedures and may see mob justice as a more direct and effective way to deal with crime, unaware of the dangers of wrongful accusations and lack of evidence.

Breakdown of Law and Order: During periods of political instability, war, or social upheaval, formal legal systems may collapse, creating a power vacuum in which people feel compelled to administer justice on their own terms.

 

Psychological Reasons Behind Mob Justice:

Deindividuation: In a mob, individuals often experience a loss of personal responsibility due to the anonymity provided by the group. This psychological phenomenon, known as deindividuation, makes individuals more likely to engage in behaviours they would avoid on their own, such as violence or aggression.

Example: During the 2013 vigilante attack in Brazil, where a mob tied a suspected thief to a lamp post and beat him, many participants likely acted out of a sense of collective anonymity and safety in numbers.

Groupthink and Peer Pressure: Mob justice is frequently driven by groupthink, where the desire for consensus and unity suppresses dissenting voices or rational thinking. Individuals may feel pressured to conform to the group’s actions, even if they personally disagree with the methods being used.

Example: In 2020, an accusation of theft in a neighbourhood in South Africa led to a mob killing two individuals. Later investigations revealed that some mob members were unsure about the guilt of the accused but went along with the crowd.

Moral Disengagement: People can psychologically distance themselves from the harm they cause in a mob by justifying their actions as serving a greater good. They may convince themselves that they are punishing someone who deserves it or are acting on behalf of the community, disengaging from the moral consequences of their actions.

Example: In Mexico, mob lynching have been reported where community members believed they were protecting their towns from criminals, even when evidence of guilt was lacking. This moral justification fuels their violent actions.

Fear and Anger: Mob justice is often driven by strong emotions like fear and anger. When people feel threatened, either by crime or social instability, these emotions can override rational decision-making and lead to impulsive, violent behaviour.

Example: In some parts of Kenya, accusations of witchcraft against elderly women have led to brutal killings by mobs. In these instances, fear of the supernatural drives the community to eliminate what they perceive as a threat.

Contagion Effect: The contagion effect refers to the spread of behaviours and emotions within a group. In the context of mob justice, once a few people initiate violent actions, others quickly follow, leading to an escalation of violence as emotions like anger and frustration spread rapidly through the crowd.

Example: In Haiti, rumours of child abduction sparked widespread fear and led to multiple cases of mob killings. The violence spread from one town to another as the fear of child kidnappers spread, triggering a nationwide panic.

 

Examples of Mob Justice:

The Aluu Four Incident (Nigeria, 2012): Four university students were lynched by a mob after being falsely accused of theft in the Aluu community. The mob, angered by frequent robberies in the area, acted impulsively without verifying the accusations, leading to the deaths of innocent young men.

India’s Rumour-Driven Lynching (2017-2018): In several parts of India, viral social media rumours about child kidnappers led to a series of lynching. Mobs attacked individuals, often outsiders, on mere suspicion of wrongdoing, driven by collective fear and misinformation.

Mexico’s Lynch Mobs (various cases): Vigilante justice has been on the rise in Mexico due to widespread crime and a general mistrust of police. In several instances, mobs have captured, beaten, and even burned alleged criminals in public, bypassing legal systems they deem ineffective.

 

Mob justice is a result of deep social frustration, emotional impulses, and psychological processes that can escalate quickly in group settings. When people lose trust in formal institutions or feel emotionally charged, they may revert to primitive forms of communal justice, often with tragic outcomes.