Abstract: This study examines how different types of NPOs influence local governments’ hazard mitigation efforts. Based on Marquis et al. (2013), we categorized NPOs into three types and analyzed a county-level dataset (N=1,626) with fixed-effect Poisson regression. Findings indicate that counties with a greater number of NPOs working for enhancing the overall community’s social welfare are more likely to develop hazard mitigation projects. In contrast, the prevalence of elite-oriented NPOs that focus on selective community constituents is negatively associated with […]
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Abstract: Why do states engage in irredentism? Expanding on previous scholarship, this article advances a new theory with rationalist microfoundations that accounts for the incentives of both elites and citizens to support irredentism in democracies and dictatorships. Our model suggests irredentism is more likely when it enables political elites to provide a specific mix of private goods, public goods, and welfare transfers to citizens who desire them at the lowest tax rate. This leads to the prediction that irredentism is […]
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Abstract: After years of disruption from war and the pandemic, tourism in the region is rebounding, with the Gulf states emerging as leading destinations. But sustainability remains elusive.
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Abstract: Whether organizational performance shapes government resource allocations or not has long been a contentious issue, especially since the 1990s when the New Public Management movement vitalized performance-based budgeting across countries. To contribute to this ongoing debate, this study examines if different levels of organizational performance achievement affect annual budget changes, focusing on Washington State’s public programs from 2006 to 2015. This study finds a significant relationship between program performance and budget changes, particularly during fiscally hard times. The findings […]
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Abstract: This article investigates the demand side of social contracts. It asks what people expect from their governments. Drawing on original, nationally representative surveys in Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon, it explores popular preferences for the three possible government deliverables in social contracts: provision of social and economic services, protection from physical harm and political participation. Findings reveal that citizens expect governments to deliver all three ‘Ps’ (even if this costs a price), yet preferring provision over protection and participation if […]
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Abstract: This article explores how rebel groups come into being and how they sustain their activities. Its core premise is that the strategies used in rebel recruitment are crucial for such organisations. Knowing how rebel groups attract members will tell us why they are strong and, by extension, who is getting the upper hand in violent domestic conflicts. Drawing on empirical findings from the Syrian civil war, the article unpacks strategic choices in rebel recruitment: successful rebel groups benefit from […]
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Abstract: The article draws on nationally representative telephone surveys in Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon to unpack popular beliefs about who can best handle the social and economic consequences from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It therefore offers insights into state–society relations under stress and contributes to the debate on whether or not the state should play a key role in social protection. Findings reveal intriguing differences between countries, but also among social groups within societies. Communal identities and economic status do […]
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Militaries, Militias, and Violence The Political Science of the Middle East, eds. Marc Lynch, Jillian Schwedler, and Sean Yom. Oxford University Press, 2022.
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Abstract: The year 2020 provided a rare opportunity to examine how US households experience economic hardship when natural disasters occur during a large-scale public health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a nationally representative sample of adults, this study examines the effect of natural disasters on household economic hardships during a pandemic, measured by food insecurity, mortgage or rent delinquency, and unemployment. The study estimated individual fixed-effect models after controlling for time trends and time-variant covariates. We find that […]
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Abstract: Drawing on close readings of an understudied Hebrew-language archive—the journal Ma’arakhot—this article examines the emergence of a new political and technical vernacular for the “doing” of national security. That vernacular was both practical and poetic/rhetorical. That is, it aimed to produce intuitive Hebrew-language equivalents for strategic, operational, and tactical concepts used in foreign—especially British, Soviet, and American—sources and to foster a vibrant, expressive, Hebrew-language political vernacular into which they could be placed. The article considers tensions that arose between […]
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