Whether police carry lethal arms reflects the regime’s democratization path
Evidence
In France, police generally carry lethal arms. In Great Britain (with the exception of such special forces as antiterror squads) police usually carry batons, but not lethal arms. That difference emerged early in the nineteenth century, as a democratizing British regime created specialized but unarmed police forces for urban patrol and crowd control. … French police operated much longer and more extensively as part of the national military, and retained their arms. As a consequence, British claim-makers suffered plenty of bruises but few deaths as compared with their French counterparts. — Charles Tilly, Regimes and Repertoires, 1316
Categorization
- recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
- XREF: connects to: Social-movement activity depends on regime-backed rights to endure retaliation — Charles Tilly, Regimes and Repertoires, 1178; Democratic regimes deploy civilian police rather than military against protesters; Analyzing weapons’ mechanics reveals the political form they impose on action