Repression and Dissent: Substitution, Context, and Timing

This study reports the results of statistical tests of three explanations of dissident responses to government repression. Mark Lichbach's theory that dissidents substitute violence for nonviolence (and vice-versa) in response to state repression is supported by the data. Dipak Gupta's theory that regime type is a determinant factor and Karen Rasler's theory that repression inhibits dissent in the short-run but spurs dissent in the long-run are not supported by the data. Rather than aggregate data over a unit of time, the study uses sequential data.