Why do some anti-government protests turn more violent than others? In contemporary Latin America, mass mobilisations have become a defining feature of political life, yet only a few have escalated into highly destructive, prolonged, and nationwide street violence. The Violent Disconnection addresses this puzzle through a comparative study of protest in Argentina, Chile and Colombia between 2017 and 2020.

The book argues that the intensity of protest violence is shaped by the degree of deterioration in state-citizen relations, operating through two key mechanisms: the strength of intermediary organisations — political parties, unions, and social movements — and the endurance of collective memories of state violence. Each mechanism operates differently once the state responds antagonistically to protest. Where intermediaries remain strong, they channel grievances and prevent radical factions from gaining traction. Where memories of past repression are vivid, both authorities and protesters recognise the costs of escalation. The interplay of these two factors produces three distinct patterns: restrained, disruptive, and transgressive violence.

Drawing on historical research, cross-national surveys, protest art, video footage, political cartoons, and 63 in-depth interviews conducted during fieldwork in three countries, the book advances the literature on contentious politics by building a novel theory of protest violence, challenging prevailing deterministic socioeconomic frameworks, and offering fresh comparative empirical data from the Global South.