Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Violence
Scholarly Publications
How body-worn cameras affect the use of gunshots, stop-and searches and other forms of police behavior: A Randomized Control Trial in Rio de Janeiro
January 2020
In this paper we examine the effects of police body-worn cameras through a randomized control trial implemented in Rio de Janeiro.
Engaging, Empowering, and Enabling Youth to Lead Social Action in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro
January 2020
This study is the result of over four years of active collaboration between the Poverty, Violence and Governance Lab (PovGov) and the Rio-based NGO Agency for Youth Networks (hereafter, Agency)....
Living in Fear: The Dynamics of Extortion in Mexico’s Drug War
January 2020
Why do drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) sometimes prey on the communities in which they operate but sometimes provide assistance to these communities?
Other Publications
What works to Prevent Violence Amongst Youth
January 2020
What works in preventing and reducing violence among youth?
Conference Report: Educational and Entrepreneurial Initiatives to Support Youth in Places of Violence [June 2015]
June 2017
Following in the footsteps of last year’s international conference on violence and policing in Latin American and U.S.
Conference Report: Educational and Entrepreneurial Initiatives to Support Youth in Places of Violence [June 2015]
June 2015
Following in the footsteps of last year’s international conference on violence and policing in Latin American and U.S.
News
Mexico's Deathly Data
November 2016
“We found that when the government came to arrest or kill the leaders of the drug cartels . . .
Syria Provokes an American Anxiety: Is U.S. Power Really So Special?
October 2016
Max Fisher and Amanda Taub, in their New York Times column Interpreter from October 8, are exploring the idea that the United States of America are in a moral position to address the state of...
Introducing CDDRL's incoming pre- and postdoctoral fellows
August 2016
Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) is proud to announce our four incoming fellows who will be joining us in the 2016-2017 academic year to develop...
Events
Preventing ISIS 3.0: Winning the Peace in Iraq
March 20, 2017
ABSTRACTThe Iraqi government, the Peshmerga, the international coalition and a consortium of militia have been winning the war against ISIS in Iraq. The concern moving forward is whether Iraq’s...
War Is Coming: Between Past and Future Violence in Lebanon
March 16, 2017
ABSTRACTFrom 1975 to 1990, Lebanon experienced a long war involving various national and international actors.
Effective Public Security and Democratic Accountability: Stanford Training Seminar
October 26, 2016
A Stanford Training Seminar for Law Enforcement ProfessionalsThe Stanford Program on Poverty and Governance delivered a five-day training course for the Planning Unit of the Mexican Comision...
Projects
An Impact Evaluation of the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs)
BACKGROUNDSince 2008, Rio de Janeiro has implemented a new public security policy called the “Pacification”, a police strategy with full support from the Federal government that aims to improve the...
English
Understanding Police Use of Force in Rio de Janeiro
BACKGROUNDIn 2008, Rio de Janeiro's government introduced an unprecedented security policy called “pacification,” a police strategy with full support from the federal government that aims to...
English
Economic Consequences of Violence
The Poverty and Governance Program has an ongoing research agenda aiming to evaluate the impact of drug-related violence on economic activity.
English
Multimedia
Between Cyclops and Leviathan: Violence, Order, and Legitimacy at the Urban Margins
April 2016
Abstract:Ongoing crises of urban insecurity in Central America have spurred novel forms of state engagement in high-risk neighbourhoods.
How Nations Succeed: Reducing Extreme Violence
January 2016
Abstract:From El Salvador to Pakistan, high levels of internal violence characterize a growing number of poorly consolidated electoral democracies.
Syria Today, Syria Tomorrow: Politics, Security, and Society
November 2015
Abstract:The Syrian crisis continues to grind on without a viable settlement to the conflict in sight.
People
Saumitra Jha Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Research Affiliate at the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Associate Professor of Political Economy, GSB Senior Fellow, SIEPR 
