How do states improve their international status and prestige short of war? We argue that
rejecting international assistance can boost a government's image by making it appear self …

Why do some countries pass laws to reduce emissions that cause climate change while
others do not? We theorize that climate change-related disasters cause politicians to view …

Democratic elections do not always deliver what majorities want. Many conclude from
frustrated majorities a failure of democracy. This book argues the opposite may be true–that …

Ex post review is a common feature of policy-making institutions. We consider an
environment in which an expert agent makes a policy recommendation, which can then be …

Societies can address collective threats such as natural disasters or pandemics by investing
in preparedness (ex ante) or by offering compensation after an adverse event has occurred …

Emergency spending is often exempt from campaign period restrictions and procurement
guidelines, making it attractive for opportunistic politicians, but natural disasters are seen as …

We propose a model of how multiple societies respond to a common crisis. A government
faces a “damned-either-way” policymaking dilemma: aggressive intervention contains the …

How does a policy of reacting to terrorist attacks with restrictions on free speech protections
affect the likelihood of terrorism in the first place? In this article, I develop a dynamic model of …

Do large-scale and unexpected events, such as natural disasters, affect elections? This
article studies the political dimension of the 19-S earthquake that hit Mexico City in 2017, a …

This paper studies the relationship between incumbents' performance and political
extremism, both with theory and data. The theory is based on a spatial model of political …