State violence is defined as "the use of legitimate governmental authority to cause unnecessary harm and suffering to groups, individuals, and states". It can be defined broadly or narrowly to refer to such events as genocide, state terrorism, drone attacks, police brutality, state surveillance, or juridical violence.
Causes:
Yuichi Kubota researched the correlation between rebel attacks and state-led violence. He found that there was a correlation between state-led violence and rebel attacks but, the government may not react to all attacks the same. The government will most likely react to attacks that threaten or weaken their security, political, and military power. Kubota finds that state-led violence against rebels is selective, the government might only react when the rebel threat presents a long-lasting effect.