It has been famously said that 'Character is Destiny'. Similarly, it might be stated that 'Culture is National Destiny'. What is national culture and how does it (partially) determine the course of historical events? 'National Culture' might be defined as the beliefs and values of a given group...

Why are some countries more successful at carrying out post-conflict reconstruction programmes than others? Why has Sierra Leone been more successful in the reform of its armed forces than Liberia has after the end of the Mano River Basin wars? This paper argues that the diverging outcomes are...

How do foreign powers disengage from a conflict? We study this issue by examining the recent, large-scale security transition from international troops to local forces in the ongoing civil conflict in Afghanistan. We construct a new dataset that combines information on this transition process...