Theoretical work on taxation and state-building borrows heavily from early modern
European experience. While a number of European states increased centralized tax …

The collapse of Mobutu's Zaire and the arrival of father and son Kabila regimes in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (hereafter, the DRC) were hastened by the dramatic and …

The administrative ability of the state to deliver effective policy is essential for economic
development. While sociologists have long devoted attention to domestic forces …

Essentially all scholars agree that the levels of violent conflict, especially wars, within
democratic pairs of states are significantly lower than levels of violent conflict within other …

When states are targeted with sanctions, they may respond with alterations of their domestic
economies meant to counter any negative effects of sanctions. In this article, we argue that …

Given the conventional claim that external threats increase internal cohesion and
government capacity, cross-country studies have examined how interstate conflict events …

Foreign aid donors increasingly embrace judicial autonomy as an important component of
advancing democracy and promoting investment abroad. Recipient governments also …

Parliamentary oversight of the military constitutes an important element of the civilian control
of the armed forces. However, the strength of parliaments in this realm varies greatly across …

International relations researchers study the interactions of states in the international system.
Excluded from almost all such analyses is any consideration of how those states became …

Die politikwissenschaftliche Forschung zu Staatskollaps, Staatszerfall und fragiler
Staatlichkeit weist deutliche Schwerpunkte und Blindstellen auf. Besonders augenfällig ist …