Two players in the modeled primitive society independently decide whether or not to arm and fight each other for distributive gains. Wealth and technology levels determine the balance of force and whether the society is in Rousseau's Garden of Eden, the Hobbesian war, or an arms race. Wealth and...

This chapter reviews the theory of the voluntary public and private redistribution of wealth elaborated by economic analysis in the last forty years or so. The central object of the theory is altruistic gift-giving, construed as benevolent voluntary redistribution of income or wealth. The theory...

We exploit differences in casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to estimate the impact of fiscal capacity on economic performance. In the past, states fought different amounts of external conflicts, of various lengths and magnitudes. To raise the revenues to wage wars, states made fiscal...

The crisis of Greater Darfur Region of Sudan extends to other regions as the South Sudan prepares for secession next July 2011. In the past eight years Sudan's crisis in Darfur was amplified by global news media all over the world. Civil conflict erupted, developed into armed rebellions and open...

Democracy usually is identified by the right to vote. However, in recent times voting procedures have been criticized, as they seemingly do not guarantee that all parts of the population have an adequate voice in the established political process. We suggest invigorating an old but nearly...

James Buchanan's protective state emerges at the constitutional level and protects the core rights of citizens via internal security, contract enforcement, and defense against external threats. This paper focuses on the potential for the protective state to produce anti-liberty outcomes. I...

In this paper, I utilize and expand on Douglass North and colleagues’ conceptual framework for understanding ideology to investigate the nature of ideological intervention. I argue that ideological intervention is ultimately about unifying the shared mental models of the individuals being...

Last month, Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote, ending several weeks of political crises. Khan had faced public discontent with his mismanagement of the economy and foreign policy – which were combined with a growingly authoritarian style...

After weeks of political turmoil, the opposition overthrew the government in Pakistan. In a no-vote of confidence, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan – who used every available means, mostly unconstitutional and illegal, to stay in power - was forced out of office. Opposition leader Mian Mohammad...