We propose a theory of protest dynamics with heterogeneous protest technology and intensity. The ability to mobilize online reduces the likelihood of coordination failures at both the extensive (engagement) and intensive (violence) margins. Social media can initially help launch massive...

As early as 1991, Ali Mazrui argued that the Red Sea was not suitable for separating Africa from Arabia. For the two were inextricably intertwined through languages, religions (particularly Islam) and identities in both the Sahara and the Red Sea in a historical fusion of Arabism and African...

This paper assesses the effects of coups on access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study covers a sample of 40 sub-Saharan African countries over the period 1980-2017. The econometric approach employed is the generalized method of moments (GMM). While the extant literature has...

We propose a theory of protest dynamics with heterogeneous protest technology and intensity. The ability to mobilize online reduces the likelihood of coordination failures at both the extensive (engagement) and intensive (violence) margins. Social media can initially help launch massive...

This study quantitatively evaluates conclusions of NGOs, UN agencies, and the International Court of Justice denouncing the purported practices of apartheid by Israel. We gauge the impact of Israeli policies on Palestinian basic needs using a bespoke index and a novel instrumental variable...

We model a rent-seeking contest among two "identity ideologues", differentially located along a uni-dimensional identity continuum, and a "mercenary", who can choose any location in-between. The contest jointly awards an identity-relevant good ("religion") and an identity-irrelevant good...

Several states in West Africa have experienced significant episodes of political violence since the early 2010s. These have included civil wars, religiously motivated terrorism, separatist insurgencies, military coups and communal strife, each of which have local, national and transnational...