Mobilization, Repression, and Violent Escalation

Abstract

State reactions to political protest crucially affect the evolution of processes of mobilisation. Not only is violent escalation of protest driven by interactions with police, experiences of stigmatisation and persecution, and the direct and indirect effects of repression. But also other forms of interaction with government and societal authorities, such as negotiations, and the way political contexts shape political opportunities and the availability of resources, contribute to shifts towards more violent repertoires of action or, conversely, can constrain violence. This panel examines this complex relationship by looking at processes of mobilisation with a particular focus on, inter alia, the impact of state policies and strategies of control or repression, relational dynamics of radicalisation and escalation, and the logics and effects of negotiations