Essays in protest and repression
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- While civil wars and armed conflict have declined in Africa, protest incidence has increased. To explain when these protests emerge, we need to know (1) what individuals stand to gain from demonstrating, (2) how they overcome collective action problems, and (3) whether and how severely the state responds. The three chapters of this dissertation bring new theory and findings to bear on these three steps in the logic of protest and repression. First, what motivates demonstrators? In rural areas, the upward trend in protests captures an increase in mining and land-related conflicts. Common explanations for these protests focus on environmental harm, an influx of job-seeking migrants, or predation by rebel groups. Chapter 1 argues, instead, that the evidence supports a different explanation --- conflictual bargaining over the division of profits between mining companies and poorly informed host communities. Second, how do these protesters organize? Communities must overcome a coordination problem and face the risk of repression. Chapter 2 employs a quasi-experimental design to demonstrate that cell phone access has lowered the costs of protesting by easing communication among would-be demonstrators and by deterring the use of repression, as governments now fear that any brutality will be quickly and widely disseminated over cell phone and social media networks. Third, under what conditions does the state repress protests? Chapter 3 uncovers and explains two widespread patterns in how governments in Africa deploy repression: first, repression is more likely in response to urban demonstrations; but, second, when states intervene in rural areas, they are 75% more likely to kill demonstrators. These patterns suggest that small protests in remote towns pose a minor threat and, thus, prompt infrequent repression. Yet, when the state cracks down in rural areas, it worries less that brutality will spark a backlash, as there are fewer bystanders who might join the fray.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2016 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Christensen, Darin |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Political Science. |
| Primary advisor | Fearon, James D |
| Primary advisor | Weinstein, Jeremy M |
| Thesis advisor | Fearon, James D |
| Thesis advisor | Weinstein, Jeremy M |
| Thesis advisor | Laitin, David D |
| Advisor | Laitin, David D |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Darin Christensen. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Political Science. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2016. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2016 by Darin Eugene Christensen
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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