When elites concede: state capacity and the management of protest in Mexico

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article argues that concessions can serve as a useful tool for managing protest. In the face of nonrevolutionary protest, concessions may represent a useful option for getting protesters out of the streets. This article theorizes that, in high-capacity states, actors involved in the process of managing protest are more varied and more capable, making the use of concessions, especially relatively cheap ones, more likely. The article then tests the theory using original event-level data on Mexican protests and responses, and leverages subnational variation in state capacity. It finds that higher levels of capacity are associated with a higher likelihood of concessions in response to protest. This finding represents an important distinction between the management of everyday protests and revolutionary ones, in which concessions are associated with state weakness.