Professor Jonathan Havercroft interviews Avia Pasternak. This conversation explores Avia's research into the political ethics of rioting, the principle of 'defensive harm' and the 2011 Tottenham Riots.

Profile: Avia Pasternak is an Associate Professor in Political Theory in Political Science at University College London. Her research investigates how citizens should respond to state injustices. She is the author of Responsible Citizens Irresponsible States: Should Citizens Pay for Their State's Wrongdoings?  Published by Oxford University Press. She is interested in the question of whether oppressed citizens may resort to violent protest against their state, and how should unjust states respond to citizens who resort to such violence. Her work on this topic has been published in Philosophy and Public Affairs and she is currently writing a book on this topic, entitled "No Justice No Peace: In Defence of Violent Protests".

Article: Dr. Pasternak’s article, “Political Rioting: A Moral Assessment”, was published in Philosophy & Public Affairs. It can be read here:

The Just Riot Theory Podcast is part of the British Academy mid-career fellowship project 'Just and Unjust Riots: a normative assessment of militant protest'. It is produced by the Public Engagement with Research Unit at the University of Southampton. Funding for the series was provided by the British Academy.