Abstract: Even though the role of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in a disaster management context has been well-studied, scholars have little understanding of NPOs’ engagement in a relationship with local governments, particularly during the hazard mitigation stage. Based on existing studies, we focus on the prominence of local nonprofit organizations in influencing local governments’ hazard mitigation efforts along with other community characteristics. By analyzing panel data on the U.S. counties that experienced presidentially declared disasters, we found that different types […]

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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 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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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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Abstract: In this project, we will educate and train Alabama students about clean energy practices and career opportunities. For our initiative, we will rely on a cross-sector collaboration including Energy Alabama (nonprofit organization), researchers (University of Alabama faculty across various disciplines), Alabama Industrial Assessment Center (AIAC), and other educational institutions in AL. First, by leveraging Alabama Industrial Assessment Center’s programs on student training and industrial energy assessments, we will provide college students with industrial energy assessment training via a peer […]

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Abstract: Environment, social, and governance (ESG) reporting guidelines are institutional rules that can enhance the credibility of firms’ publicly disclosed information related to ESG. Reporting is often voluntary and global ESG reporting guidelines typically rely on process-focused third party verification. However, in developing its reporting guidelines, the Japanese government gave firms the unusual option of pursuing either process- or content-focused verification. This paper draws on the unique Japanese setting to examine whether firms that use ESG reporting guidelines increase their […]

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Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic influenced individuals’ anxiety and depression across the United States over a short period, and some Americans relied on drugs for coping. This study examines American adults’ drug use trajectories in response to changing anxiety and depression levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and the moderating role of substance use disorder (SUD) services provided by non-profit facilities in anxiety/depression-induced drug use. Heterogeneity in such relationships is further explored based on race/ethnicity. This study used a nationally representative sample […]

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Abstract: Surveys around the world report exceptionally high levels of support for the military. This is particularly relevant for countries in transition from authoritarian rule to democracy, where militaries can play a vital role for democratic consolidation or autocratic backsliding. Given the sensitive nature of the issue, we suspect that figures indicating strong support for the military are at least partly driven by sensitivity bias. We explore this possibility through list experiments in two nationally representative surveys in Tunisia. We […]

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Abstract: The effect of state fiscal restrictions on local governments is often debatable. While the institutional heterogeneity of such controls is often thought to generate variations in outcomes, more theoretical and empirical attention is imperative. This study aims to address the needs with a particular focus on state-imposed tax and expenditure limitations on municipal governments (municipal TELs), one of the long-standing forms of state pre-emption in the United States. Specifically, it adopts a rule design approach to institutions to capture […]

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Abstract: Enns and Koch question the validity of the Berry, Ringquist, Fording, and Hanson measure of state policy mood and defend the validity of the Enns and Koch measure on two grounds. First, they claim policy mood has become more conservative in the South over time; we present empirical evidence to the contrary: policy mood became more liberal in the South between 1980 and 2010. Second, Enns and Koch argue that an indicator’s lack of face validity in cross-sectional comparisons […]

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