State capacity is a core concept in political science research, and it is widely recognized that
state institutions exert considerable influence on outcomes such as economic development …

Why did the nation-state emerge and proliferate across the globe? How is this process
related to the wars fought in the modern era? Analyzing datasets that cover the entire world …

The article reviews the literature on the relationship between democracy and armed conflict,
internal as well as interstate. The review points to several similarities between how …

Abstract From Angola to Iraq, wars have taken place in resource rich countries full of poor
people. Wars of Plunder explores the interplay of natural resources and armed conflicts, and …

Rebel groups that confront the government frequently become engaged in fierce and violent
struggles with other groups. Why does a rebel group who is already fighting with the …

Recent studies of civil war have problematized frameworks that rely on a strict binary
between state-sanctioned order and anarchy. This paper extends these insights and …

This study examines whether the state's ability to provide social welfare services has any
major effect on the probability of civil conflict onset. We argue that welfare spending …

High levels of violence and insecurity are highly detrimental for societies. United Nations
Sustainable Development Goal 16 is advocating for peaceful, accountable and inclusive …

This study shows that the relative size of the youth bulge matters in how corruption affects
the internal stability of a political system. Using panel data covering the 1984–2012 period …

Many conflict studies regard formal democratic institutions as states' most important vehicle
to reduce deprivation-motivated armed conflict against their governments. We argue that the …