Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Oil
Scholarly Publications
No Picnic: The Dynamics of Culture in the Contemporary Arab World
August 2010
An Abstract All too frequently, students of democracy and democratization view the politics they analyze exclusively through the prism of constitutions, elections, and political actors.
Political Liberalization in the Persian Gulf
September 2009
The countries of the Persian (or Arab) Gulf produce about thirty percent of the planet's oil and keep around fifty-five percent of its reserves underground.
Russia and the Global Financial Crisis: The End of "Putinism"?
April 2009
Given the dramatic change in Russia's economic circumstances a year after Medvedev's ascendancy to president and Putin's move to the office of prime minister, now is a particularly appropriate time...
Other Publications
How to Look Credible in Promoting Liberty
June 2003
George W. Bush wants Americans and the world to believe that the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime two months ago represented a defeat for tyranny and a victory for liberty.
News
Stanford conference explores new development approaches post Arab Spring
April 2012
The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy hosted its third annual conference on April 26-27 at Stanford University to present an integrated approach to development in the Arab world.
Stanford scholars reflect on Arab Spring
January 2012
A year after the Egyptian uprising, five scholars talk about democracy in the Middle East, how lives have changed in the Arab world, and what the U.S. has learned from the Arab Spring.
An interview with Prince Moulay Hicham
October 2011
Prince Moulay Hicham ben Abdallah was interviewed in the September/October issue of the French journal Le Débat, providing his unique insight on the Arab Spring events as a member of the Moroccan...
Old Events
Oil and Urban Life in Kuwait
April 20, 2016
AbstractIn this talk Farah Al-Nakib will discuss her recently released book Kuwait Transformed: A History of Oil and Urban Life (Stanford University Press, 2016), in which she traces the...
Petroleum to the People: Africa's Coming Resource Curse and How to Avoid It
September 26, 2013
Abstract: In the coming decade new oil discoveries in Africa will leave fragile democracies vulnerable to corruption, patronage and rent seeking behavior.
Can Cash Transfers Save Countries from Resource Windfalls?
May 7, 2013
Abstract: The discovery of oil or gas in a poor country is potentially beneficial and, simultaneously, potentially calamitous.
Projects
Networks of Fear: The Dynamics of Extortion in Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency
We study the dynamics and logic of extortion in Mexico’s drug war.
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
Program on Oil Wealth Management in Developing States - Completed
OPEC's net oil export revenues exceeded $1 trillion in 2008, and oil exporting states (petro states) are eager to learn from experience and from their peers how to mitigate the negative...
English