An article by Assistant Professor of Government Heather Sullivan was recently published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution.
Sullivan said that protest violence is an essential part of the politics of protest. In “Sticks, Stones, and Broken Bones: Protest Violence and the State,” she argues that “where state institutions are not considered by citizens to be a relevant or useful authority, protest violence will be more likely.”
Using data on Mexican protest events, Sullivan demonstrated “that higher levels of state authority reduce violent protest but that increased coercive capacity, especially where state authority is weak, is associated with a greater likelihood of protest violence.”
