Abstract: In this issue, we reflect on MERIP’s (Middle East Research and Information Project) 50-year history of speaking truth to power and evaluate its continuing legacy. We are proud that a scrappy monthly newsletter written by and for activists not only endured, but evolved into Middle East Report, a unique source of news and analysis that features essays informed by rigorous scholarship and detailed field research while remaining committed to a progressive political mission. In its early decades, MERIP provided […]

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Abstract: This research note introduces new global data on military coups. Conventional aggregate data so far has conflated two distinct types of coups. Military interventions by leading officers are coups “from above,” characterized by political power struggles within authoritarian elite coalitions where officers move against civilian elites, executive incumbents, and their loyal security personnel. By contrast, power grabs by officers from the lower and middle ranks are coups “from below,” where military personnel outside of the political elite challenge sitting […]

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Abstract: Popular attitudes in support of authoritarian alternatives and weak party systems constitute important threats to democratic consolidation and the stability of new democracies. This article explores popular alienation from established political actors in Tunisia. Under what conditions do citizens support alternatives to the elites in power and the institutional infrastructure of a new democracy? Drawing on an original, nationally representative survey in Tunisia administered in 2017, this article examines three categories of popular attitudes in support of political outsiders. […]

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Abstract: Privatizing the administration of American prisons represents a popular tool of correctional governance. In turn, policy and public administration researchers are routinely studying the consequences of prison privatization on criminal justice outcomes such as recidivism rates and prisoner complaints. However, much less attention has been paid to the antecedents of privatization decisions occurring across states, in particular how racial determinants might be influencing privatization outcomes. Building upon existing policy research with theories of social construction and negative racial classification, […]

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Abstract: Since climate change presents an unprecedented threat to public health, creating environmentally sustainable communities has become an important policy goal. Many local governments have voluntarily implemented sustainability practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change at community levels. Because of the potential benefits, scholars and practitioners are paying increasing attention to the sustainability practices of local government. This study provides evidence for their health benefits after analyzing data of more than 3000 older adults between 2012 and 2016. Our […]

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Abstract: This chapter argues the rise of airplane hijackings in the 1970s, followed by a series of more violent attacks against airplanes and air travelers in the 1980s, contributed to a late Cold War anxiety about the limits of American global power. The expansion of aeromobility managed by private commercial airlines with extensive US government support was central to the expansion of American global power in the post-World War II era. In the early 1970s, the adoption of hijacking as […]

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Abstract: Background Although natural disasters can threaten health and well-being, some people show greater resilience to their effects than others. Identifying the characteristics related to resilience has important implications for reducing the health risks in the aftermath of a disaster. Objective Using the Conservation of Resources Theory as a framework, we study the role of resources in moderating the adverse effects of natural disasters on people’s health and coping behaviors. Method We match 20,658 unique individuals aged 50 or older […]

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Abstract: Over the last several years, locating a large-scale food processing plant in a small rural community has attracted attention as a policy tool for local economic development. It is unclear, however, that public officials make decisions based on a comprehensive analysis that accounts for various costs and benefits across different policy issues and areas. Doing so is important because these decisions often involve the allocation of scarce public resources. This may be attributable to a lack of literature that […]

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Abstract: The present study examines whether people respond heterogeneously to statewide social distancing mandates as a function of factors that proxy for health risk, economic insecurity, and media consumption. Using longitudinal data of 7400 American adults between March 10 and June 23, 2020, the study examines social-distancing and mask-wearing behaviors. We use a staggered difference-in-difference model to explore whether state policies lead to preventive behaviors. We further examine heterogeneity in individual responses to state mandates by including interaction terms with […]

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