Hospital Radicalization: The Rise of Yi Nao
摘要
Yi Nao describes a type of workplace violence found in Chinese hospitals in the form of organised disturbance by patients and/or Yi Nao gangs. In this chapter, we introduce the concept of radicalization as a new analytical tool to understand Yi Nao. This particular type of workplace violence can be unpacked into five stages of staircase-like, psychological and behavioral transformation undergone by patients and/or their relatives in protest of maltreatment or medical incidents. The image of the “all-around” government in China is often perceived as the ultimate reference of security in medical protest, which characterizes Yi Nao as a China-specific form of violence. Finally, we discuss three cases in which doctors resist Yi Nao violence. The study of Yi Nao through the processual–relational approach of radicalization can help us better understand the connection between the factors contributing to Yi Nao, thereby achieving a coherent interpretation of the phenomenon and more diverse ways to theorize the Chinese geography of ordinary insecurities.