Policing in divided societies: Theorising a type of policing∗

The paper suggests that there are general features which distinguish policing in divided societies from that which occurs in more integrated societies, and explores the ways in which the police mediate and reflect conflict in this type of society. However, policing in divided societies is more complex than it appears from the sparse literature on this topic because of an over‐simplified view of the nature of conflict in this type of society. Operating with a broader view of conflict, the police can be seen to intervene in further ways. But these caveats do not blur the qualitative differences in the mode of policing operating in divided societies from that which applies elsewhere.