Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

CDDRL Publications

Publications

Working Papers

Performance Legitimacy, State Autonomy and China's Economic Miracle

Dingxin Zhao, Hongxing Yang

CDDRL Working Papers, 2013 April 1, 2013

All the theories that explain post-Mao China’s economic success tend to attribute it to one or several “successful” policies or institutions of the Chinese government, or to account for the success from economic perspectives. This article argues that the success of the Chinese economy relies not just on the Chinese state’s economic policy but also on its social policies.

Governance International Development Economic Affairs Institutions and Organizations Working Papers

Working Papers

Land Takings and Political Trust in Rural China

Dali Yang, Ernan Cui, Ran Tao, Travis J. Warner

CDDRL Working Papers, 2013 April 1, 2013

Governance Working Papers

Working Papers

Social Fragmentation, Public Goods and Elections: Evidence from China

Nancy Qian, Gerard Pedro-i-Miquel, Yang Yao

CDDRL Working Papers, 2013 April 1, 2013

This study examines the influence of voter heterogeneity, measured as religious fractionalization, on how the introduction of elections affects public goods in rural China. We document religious composition and the introduction of village-level elections for over two hundred villages and examine the interaction effect of average heterogeneity and the introduction of elections on village-government provision of public goods.

Governance Elections Working Papers

Working Papers

The Quality of Governance in China: A Citizen's View

Anthony Saich

CDDRL Working Papers, 2013 April 1, 2013

Governance Working Papers

Working Papers

Authoritarian Parochialism: Local Congressional Representation in China

Melanie Manion

CDDRL Working Papers, 2013 April 1, 2013

This paper draws on evidence from loosely structured interviews and data from original surveys of 5,130 delegates in township, county, and municipal congresses to argue that congressional representation unfolds as authoritarian parochialism in China. It makes three new arguments. First, popularly elected local congresses that once only mechanically stood in for the Chinese mass public, through demographically descriptive and politically symbolic representation, now work as substantively representative institutions.

Governance Institutions and Organizations Working Papers

Working Papers

Republic of Government vis-a-vis Republic of Science: Analyzing China's Scientific Knowledge Production

Yasheng Huang, Devin Fensterheim, Fiona Murray

CDDRL Working Papers, 2013 April 1, 2013

Governance Science and Technology International Development Working Papers

Working Papers

Internal Government Assessments of the Quality of Governance in China

Martin Dimitrov

CDDRL Working Papers, 2013 April 1, 2013

Authoritarian governments produce internal assessments of the quality of governance that allow them to identify and address brewing problems before they threaten regime stability. This paper provides a theory of how the information necessary to produce such assessments is gathered. The empirical focus of the paper is on China, which is used to illustrate how information-gathering channels in communist autocracies differ from those used in electoral autocracies.

Corruption Governance Security Elections Working Papers

Journal Articles

Political Participation and Democratic Transition in the Arab Word

Lina Khatib

University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, 2013 April 1, 2013

A paper released by CDDRL Arab Reform and Democracy Program Manager, Lina Khatib addresses the challenges and opportunities for political participation in Tunisia and Egypt post-Arab Spring. Published in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, Khatib argues that while there are challenges following the democratic transitions a new opening for political parties and civil society in the Arab world is in the making.

Governance Democracy Journal Articles

Books

Transitions to Democracy: A Comparative Perspective

Kathryn Stoner, Michael A. McFaul, Beatriz Magaloni, Abbas Milani, Gregory Domber, Ray Jennings

The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013 March 12, 2013

As demonstrated by current events in Tunisia and Egypt, oppressive regimes are rarely immune to their citizens’ desire for democratic government. Of course, desire is always tempered by reality; therefore how democratic demands are made manifest is a critical source of study for both political scientists and foreign policy makers. What issues and consequences surround the fall of a government, what type of regime replaces it, and to what extent are these efforts successful?

Democracy Governance Books

Journal Articles

Qatar's Foreign Policy: The Limits of Pragmatism

Lina Khatib

International Affairs, 2013 March 1, 2013

Qatar has become an Arab country with a high international profile and an ambitious foreign policy, particularly as a result of its role in the Arab Spring. It has cultivated a reputation as a political mediator and a key source of foreign aid. Following the Libyan uprising, Qatar demonstrated further political adaptability in leading regional action against the Gaddafi regime.

International Relations Diplomacy Foreign Aid Foreign Policy Journal Articles

Working Papers

What is Governance?

Francis Fukuyama

2013 February 1, 2013

This paper points to the poor state of empirical measures of the quality of states, that is, executive branches and their bureaucracies. Much of the problem is conceptual, since there is very little agreement on what constitutes high-quality government. The paper suggests four approaches: (1) procedural measures, such as the Weberian criteria of bureaucratic modernity; (2) capacity measures, which include both resources and degree of professionalization; (3) output measures; and (4) measures of bureaucratic autonomy.

Governance Working Papers

Policy Briefs

For Each and Every Child: A strategy for Education Equity and Excellence

Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, The Equity and Excellence Commission

2013 February 1, 2013

Selection from the report (Foreword by the commission co-chairs):

International Development Education Society Education Policy Briefs

Policy Briefs

Crowdsourcing for Democracy: New Era in Policy-Making

Tanja Aitamurto

Committee for the Future, Parliament of Finland, 2012 December 31, 2012

By drawing on several cases around the world, this book illuminates the role of crowdsourcing in policy-making. From crowdsourced constitution reform in Iceland and participatory budgeting in Canada, to open innovation for services and crowdsourced federal strategy process in the United States, the book analyzes the impact of crowdsourcing on citizen agency in the public sphere. It also serves as a handbook with practical advice for successful crowdsourcing in a variety of public domains.

Democracy Governance Innovation International Development Policy Briefs

Policy Briefs

اصلاح القطاع الأمني في مصر: المعضلات والتحديات

عمر عاشور

مشروع بروكينجز الدوحة وجامعة ستانفورد للتحولات العربية, 2012 December 31, 2012

Policy Briefs

Policy Briefs

التصويت من أجل التغيير: المخاطر والاحتمالات التي تواجه أول انتخابات التحولات العربية

الين لاست

مشروع بروكينجز الدوحة و جامعة ستانفورد للتحولات العربية, 2012 December 31, 2012

تقدم أول انتخابات بعد سقوط الأنظمة السلطوية فرصة مهمة للجهات الفاعلة على الصعيدين المحلي والدولي لتعزيز العمليات الانتقالية. تبحث هذه الورقة أفضل السبل لدعم الممارسات الديمقراطية في الانتخابات القادمة، بناء على الدروس التي قدمتها تجربتا مصر وتونس.

Policy Briefs

Policy Briefs

ريادة الأعمال الإجتماعية: لماذا هي مهمة بعد الربيع العربي؟

اليزابيث باكنر, سارينا بيجيس, د. لينا الخطيب

, 2012 December 31, 2012

تعلق هذه الورقة على التحديات والفرص التي تواجه ريادة الأعمال الاجتماعية في العالم العربي بعد الربيع العربي، مع توصيات السياسة العامة لتنمية المجتمع. وتحلل الورقة النتائج التي توصلت إليها

Policy Briefs

Policy Briefs

صياغة دستور مصر: هل يمكن لاطار قانوني أن يعيد إحياء عملية الانتقال؟

د. تامر مصطفى

عن مشروع بروكينجز الدوحة و جامعة ستانفورد للتحولات العربية, 2012 December 31, 2012

تم إصدار أول ورقة بحثية ضمن "مشروع مركز بروكنجز الدوحة و جامعة ستانفورد للتحولات لعربية" للدكتور/ تامر مصطفى - الباحث بجامعة سيمون فريزر بكندا، وهي بعنوان: "صياغة دستور مصر: هل يمكن لاطار قانوني أن يعيد إحياء عملية الانتقال؟" من خلال التركيز على الحالة المصرية، يلقي الدكتور/ تامر مصطفى الضوء على بعض القصور الذي شاب عملية صياغة الدستور في مصر وذلك لتقديم الدروس المستفادة من هذه الحالة إلى الدول العربية الأخرى التى على وشك البدء في عملية صياغة الدستور.

Policy Briefs

Policy Briefs

Social Entrepreneurship: Why is It Important Post Arab Spring?

Elizabeth Buckner, Sarina A. Beges, Lina Khatib

2012 December 31, 2012

This white paper comments on the challenges and opportunities facing social entrepreneurship in the Arab world after the Arab Spring, with policy recommendations for the development community. The paper analyzes findings by an online survey conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj in December 2011-January 2012 and with over 12,000 respondents from across the Arab region.

International Development Entrepreneurship Policy Briefs

Journal Articles

Public Diplomacy 2.0

Lina Khatib, William Dutton, Michael Thelwall

Middle East Journal, 2012 December 31, 2012

International Relations Diplomacy Journal Articles

Journal Articles

Morocco: Outfoxing the Opposition

Ahmed Benchemsi

Journal of Democracy, 2012 December 31, 2012

Morocco was not immune to the 2011 upheavals in the Arab world, but the country’s monarchy deftly managed the crisis through cosmetic constitutional reform.

Governance Democracy Journal Articles

Journal Articles

Whither Russia? Autocracy Is Here for Now, but Is It Here to Stay?

Kathryn Stoner

Perspectives on Politics, 2012 December 1, 2012

Judging from some of the titles of recent books on Russia—for example, Richard Sakwa's The Crisis of Russian Democracy, Gulnaz Sharafutdinova's Political Consequences of Crony Capitalism inside Russia, and Tom Remington's The Politics of Inequality in Russia—all is not well 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Corruption abounds, and state institutions are weak where they should be strong or strong where they should be weak.

Corruption Governance Security Democracy Human Rights Poverty International Development Institutions and Organizations Society Journal Articles

Working Papers

Crisis, Coercion, and Authoritarian Durability: Explaining Diverging Responses to Anti-Regime Protest in Egypt and Iran

Jean Lachapelle, Lucan Way, Steven Levitsky

CDDRL Working Papers, 2012 December 1, 2012

Focusing on Iran in 2009 and Egypt in 2011, this paper examines the role of the coercive apparatus in responding to crises triggered by mass anti-regime protest. We argue that the divergent outcomes of the two crises – authoritarian resilience in Iran and regime breakdown in Egypt – can be traced to the regimes’ distinct origins.

Security Working Papers

Policy Briefs

From Bad Cop to Good Cop: The Challenge of Security Sector Reform in Egypt

Omar Ashour

BDC-Stanford Project on Arab Transitions, 2012 November 1, 2012

Security Policy Briefs

Books

Governing Security: The Hidden Origins of American Security Agencies

Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar

Stanford University Press, 2012 November 1, 2012

Description from Stanford University Press:

The impact of public law depends on how politicians secure control of public organizations, and how these organizations in turn are used to define national security. Governing Security explores this dynamic by investigating the surprising history of two major federal agencies that touch the lives of Americans every day: the Roosevelt-era Federal Security Agency (which became today's Department of Health and Human Services) and the more recently created Department of Homeland Security.

Governance Elections Homeland Security Institutions and Organizations Security Homeland Security Conflict Society History Books

Policy Briefs

La Geografía Electoral de 2012 (México)

Beatriz Magaloni, Alberto Diaz-Cayeros, Jorge Olarte, Edgar Franco Vivanco

México Evalua, 2012 October 10, 2012

On July 1, over 50 million Mexicans went to the polls to elect the next President of the Republic. The official count showed the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate, Enrique Peña Nieto, as winning with 38.21% of the vote. He was followed by Democratic Revolucionary Party (PRD) candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who received 31.59% of the vote and National Action Party (PAN) candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota with 25.41% of the vote.

Governance Elections Society Policy Briefs

Pages