Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Environment
Environment
FSI scholars approach their research on the environment from regulatory, economic and societal angles. The Center on Food Security and the Environment weighs the connection between climate change and agriculture; the impact of biofuel expansion on land and food supply; how to increase crop yields without expanding agricultural lands; and the trends in aquaculture. FSE’s research spans the globe – from the potential of smallholder irrigation to reduce hunger and improve development in sub-Saharan Africa to the devastation of drought on Iowa farms. David Lobell, a senior fellow at FSI and a recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, has looked at the impacts of increasing wheat and corn crops in Africa, South Asia, Mexico and the United States; and has studied the effects of extreme heat on the world’s staple crops.
Recent Scholarly Publications
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Authoritarian State Building in the Middle East: From Durability to Revolution
February 2011
What accounts for variation in the durability of authoritarian regimes in the post-colonial Middle East? This working paper presents a new explanation that underscores how the geopolitical...
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...
Do Migrants Improve Their Hometowns? Remittances and Access to Public Services in Mexico, 1995-2000
April 2009
How do citizens in developing countries access public services?
Azerbaijan's 2005 Parliamentary Elections: A Failed Attempt at Transition
September 2008
The 2005 elections in Azerbaijan qualify as a failed transition from authoritarianism to democracy.
"The World Bank Made Me Do It?" International Factors and Ghana's Transition to Democracy
May 2008
Ghana is widely regarded as a signal success story in the African “wave” of democratizations of the 1990s.
The End of Easy Oil: Estimating Average Production Costs for Oil Fields around the World
March 2008
This paper develops empirical models for average oil production costs that represent the structural field-level and country-level determinants most characteristic for the new era beyond easy oil....
International Law, Fifth Edition
July 2007
Thoroughly updated to keep pace with the many new developments in international law, the Fifth Edition of this popular casebook covers the core topics, basic doctrines, and a broad range of foreign...
Oil-Led Development: Social, Political, and Economic Consequences
January 2007
Proponents of oil-led development believe that countries lucky enough to have "black gold" can base their development on this resource.
Inside Rebellion: The Politics of Insurgent Violence
October 2006
Some rebel groups abuse noncombatant populations, while others exhibit restraint.
Defining and Domesticating the Electoral Model: A Comparison of Slovakia and Serbia
May 2006
The transitions to democracy in the postcommunist region over the past decade and one-half share a common dynamic, featuring the interaction between two sets of factors.
The Social and Political Consequences of Oil
December 2005
In recent years our usage and understanding of different types of energy has grown at a tremendous rate.
Understanding the Resource Curse
December 2005
In most resource-rich countries, natural wealth does not translate into prosperity for the majority of inhabitants, but instead leads to environmental and economic devastation, and hampers...
AIDS, Reversal of the Demographic Transition and Economic Development: Evidence from Africa
September 2005
This paper presents empirical evidence on a specific mechanism through which demographic transition affects economic growth.
Resources and the Information Problem in Rebel Recruitment
August 2005
How does the resource base of a rebel group impact its membership, structure, and behavior?
Perspective Paper on Financial Instability
December 2004
A unique publication exploring the opportunities for addressing ten of the most serious challenges facing the world today: Climate Change, Communicable Diseases, Conflicts, Education, Financial...
The Hole in the Whole: Sovereignty, Shared Sovereignty, and International Law
December 2004
Ideally, a body of law comprises a set of coherent and consistent rules. These rules contribute to the creation of an environment that is predictable, efficacious, and just.
Dams and Development: Transnational Struggles For Water and Power
August 2004
Big dams built for irrigation, power, water supply, and other purposes were among the most potent symbols of economic development for much of the twentieth century.
A Theory of Endogenous Institutional Change
August 2004
This paper asks (a) why and how institutions change; (b) how does an institution persist in a changing environment and (c) how do processes that it unleashes lead to its own demise.
Global Standards; Global Growth?
August 2004
This volume centers on the movement toward global legal standards, an increasingly recognized dimension of the quest to improve the rule of law.
Identity, Social Distance, and Palestinian Support for the Roadmap
August 2004
Suicide attacks occur in the context of a conflict between warring groups, supported by an organization and sometimes even by families and communities which proudly sacrifice their children.
People
