Non-aggression pacts, designed to reduce the possibility of future conflict, are distinctive from other military alliances because they do not necessitate active coordination between signatories. However, what they do have in common with other types of allianc... More »
In the face of domestic opposition, a dictator accountable for human rights violations is unlikely to relinquish power due to fears of domestic punishment and international prosecution. What if the domestic opposition has also caused unspeakable civilian casua... More »
Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are social programs that provide stipends to low-income families and individuals who meet certain conditions, such as ensuring their children receive mandatory vaccinations or meet school attendance requirements. CCTs have had... More »
The welfare migration hypothesis proposes the idea that people will move to a location because of the availability of social welfare programs. Frequently studied in international development, it is equally applicable to internal migration in the United States ... More »
Teacher shortages are a harsh reality in states across the nation. From California to South Carolina, recruiting and retaining teachers is an imminent concern for school districts, parents, and students. These problems are often more pronounced in high poverty... More »
Frequent leadership cycles are common in dictatorships. Historically, military dictators, whose power is derived from the armed forces, have been subject to more subsequent coups and regime changes than their non-military counterparts. Given their short-lived ... More »
The concept of a sharing economy, which includes businesses such as Uber and Airbnb, enables people to utilize an item or service without acquiring actual ownership. While its increasing popularity brings benefits to users, it nevertheless poses a number of ri... More »
In 2015, reports of elevated lead levels in the city’s water supply put Flint, Michigan into the national spotlight. The state-appointed emergency manager’s 2014 decision to approve municipal use of water from the Flint River, in an attempt to help the cash st... More »
What is the sex bureaucracy? How has it interacted with social norms to shape regulations regarding sex in the United States over time? In what ways has it changed, and to what extent has its new form retained a variety of bureaucratic elements? Should the pub... More »
As gun violence takes hundreds of lives each year in Chicago, academics, journalists and policy makers continue to debate the merits of viewing gun violence as a public health issue. While organizations like the American Public Health Association advocate in f... More »
Scholars have attempted to clarify whether uncertainty about the outcome of a potential war—victory or defeat—influences state behavior in international crises. Until recently, there was consensus that when two states in a bilateral context have equivalent cap... More »
Are economic elites always anti-democratic? Not in some contexts. Structural changes in the Bolivian economy cultivated a new set of economic elites in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They typically supported the right-leaning Hugo Banzer, who led a series of ... More »