This essay explores the purpose and function of the police in a modern state. It draws mainly from the ideas put forth by Walter Benjamin in his 1921 essay, Critique of Violence, and focuses exclusively on the events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. By applying political theory to concrete events, it attempts to expose the mechanics of capitalist state repression as presented in its current form. Central themes are police violence, state repression, popular sovereignty and political resistance. It is the intention of this piece of writing that it be used for practical purposes, to serve as a foundation on which the public can more easily critique the American political system. We must understand racist police violence in order to resist it.
","abstract_html":"<p>This essay explores the purpose and function of the police in a modern state. It draws mainly from the ideas put forth by Walter Benjamin in his 1921 essay, Critique of Violence, and focuses exclusively on the events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. By applying political theory to concrete events, it attempts to expose the mechanics of capitalist state repression as presented in its current form. Central themes are police violence, state repression, popular sovereignty and political resistance. It is the intention of this piece of writing that it be used for practical purposes, to serve as a foundation on which the public can more easily critique the American political system. We must understand racist police violence in order to resist it. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Milnor, Menemsha P.S."],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Susan Buck-Morss"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-09-30T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-09-30T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:54Z","subjects":["Philosophy","Political Science","Black Lives Matter; capitalist state repression; fetishized secularism; police violence; political resistance; popular sovereignty"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1057","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Susan Buck-Morss"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Milnor, Menemsha P.S."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Philosophy","Political Science","Black Lives Matter; capitalist state repression; fetishized secularism; police violence; political resistance; popular sovereignty"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1057"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This essay explores the purpose and function of the police in a modern state. It draws mainly from the ideas put forth by Walter Benjamin in his 1921 essay, Critique of Violence, and focuses exclusively on the events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. By applying political theory to concrete events, it attempts to expose the mechanics of capitalist state repression as presented in its current form. Central themes are police violence, state repression, popular sovereignty and political resistance. It is the intention of this piece of writing that it be used for practical purposes, to serve as a foundation on which the public can more easily critique the American political system. We must understand racist police violence in order to resist it.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Civil Unrest in the Untied State of America: Facing the Threat"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Susan Buck-Morss"],"dc:creator":["Milnor, Menemsha P.S."],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This essay explores the purpose and function of the police in a modern state. It draws mainly from the ideas put forth by Walter Benjamin in his 1921 essay, Critique of Violence, and focuses exclusively on the events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. By applying political theory to concrete events, it attempts to expose the mechanics of capitalist state repression as presented in its current form. Central themes are police violence, state repression, popular sovereignty and political resistance. It is the intention of this piece of writing that it be used for practical purposes, to serve as a foundation on which the public can more easily critique the American political system. We must understand racist police violence in order to resist it.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1057"],"dc:subject":["Philosophy","Political Science","Black Lives Matter; capitalist state repression; fetishized secularism; police violence; political resistance; popular sovereignty"],"dc:title":["Civil Unrest in the Untied State of America: Facing the Threat"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Political Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:54Z"}