Understanding the 2024 UK riots

To introduce this Special Section, we reflect on the riots that took place in the United Kingdom in late July and early August 2024 and the questions, issues and challenges that this raises for geography as a discipline and for our practice as geographers. We challenge the silences and absences that have prevailed since the riots took place and raise questions about several issues that remain under‐explored. We address the ways in which far‐right ideas have become increasingly mainstream and consider the role that Islamophobia and anti‐Muslim sentiment played in catalysing the situation. We conclude by considering the importance of these issues for geography and suggest avenues for further research.