Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Society
Society
FSI researchers work to understand continuity and change in societies as they confront their problems and opportunities. This includes the implications of migration and human trafficking. What happens to a society when young girls exit the sex trade? How do groups moving between locations impact societies, economies, self-identity and citizenship? What are the ethnic challenges faced by an increasingly diverse European Union? From a policy perspective, scholars also work to investigate the consequences of security-related measures for society and its values.
The Europe Center reflects much of FSI’s agenda of investigating societies, serving as a forum for experts to research the cultures, religions and people of Europe. The Center sponsors several seminars and lectures, as well as visiting scholars.
Societal research also addresses issues of demography and aging, such as the social and economic challenges of providing health care for an aging population. How do older adults make decisions, and what societal tools need to be in place to ensure the resulting decisions are well-informed? FSI regularly brings in international scholars to look at these issues. They discuss how adults care for their older parents in rural China as well as the economic aspects of aging populations in China and India.
Recent Scholarly Publications
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State of Repression Iraq under Saddam Hussein
January 2019
A new account of modern Iraqi politics that overturns the conventional wisdom about its sectarian divisionsHow did Iraq become one of the most repressive dictatorships of the late twentieth century...
Clientelism, Capitalism, and Democracy
August 2018
Political parties in the United States and Britain used clientelism and patronage to govern throughout the nineteenth century.
Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment
August 2018
In 2014, Francis Fukuyama wrote that American institutions were in decay, as the state was progressively captured by powerful interest groups.
"Political Logic of Poverty Relief" Electoral Strategies and Social Policy in Mexico
June 2017
Poverty relief programs are shaped by politics.
Architects of Occupation
April 2017
The Allied occupation of Japan is remembered as the "good occupation." An American-led coalition successfully turned a militaristic enemy into a stable and democratic ally.
The Impact of Holy Land Crusades on State Formation: War Mobilization, Trade Integration, and Political Development in Medieval Europe
November 2016
*/ Lisa Blaydes and Christopher Paik explore the impact the Holy Land Crusaders in Cambridge International Organization, as the most significant forms of military mobilization during the medieval...
How the Mexican Drug War Affects Kids and Schools? Evidence on Effects and Mechanisms
October 2016
In this paper published by the International Journal of Educational Development, we investigate the impact of drug-related violence in Mexico on academic achievement.
How the Mexican Drug War Affects Kids and Schools? Evidence on Effects and Mechanisms
June 2016
In this paper published by the International Journal of Educational Development, we investigate the impact of drug-related violence in Mexico on academic achievement.
Taiwan's Democracy Challenged: The Chen Shui-bian Years
December 2015
At the end of Chen Shui-bian’s two terms as the president of Taiwan, his tenure was widely viewed as a disappointment, if not an outright failure.
The Next Democratic Century
January 2014
In an article published in the January 2014 issue of Current History, Larry Diamond urges civil society and policy leaders to stay optimistic about democracy’s future, arguing that its historical...
Traditional Governance, Citizen Engagement and Local Public Goods: Evidence from Mexico
December 2013
We study the governance of public good provision in poor communities in Oaxaca, Mexico.
The Mexican War on Drugs: Crime and the Limits of Government Persuasion
October 2013
Abstract:In order to successfully battle organized crime, governments require a certain degree of citizens’ support.
Whither Russia? Autocracy Is Here for Now, but Is It Here to Stay?
December 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...
Governing Security: The Hidden Origins of American Security Agencies
November 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...
The Transformation of the Arab World
July 2012
In this article, Oliver Roy argues that in order to grasp what is happening in the Middle East, a number of deep-rooted prejudices must be set aside.
Human Trafficking: Moral Panic, Culture and Collective Action
June 2012
There is consensus that even while human trafficking is increasingly the subject of international, national and local attention by treaty making bodies, legislatures and law enforcement agencies,...
Shaming, State Power, and Enforcement in the History of Anti-Trafficking Efforts: African Perspectives
June 2012
The central problem in human trafficking since the first global efforts to abolish the slave trade in the late eighteenth century is the persistence of demand for unfree women, children, and men....
History Textbooks and the Wars in Asia: Divided Memories
December 2011
Over the past fifteen years Northeast Asia has witnessed growing intraregional exchanges and interactions, especially in the realms of culture and economy.
The Slave Trade and the Origins of International Human Rights Law
December 2011
From Oxford University Press: There is a broad consensus among scholars that the idea of human rights was a product of the Enlightenment but that a self-conscious and broad-based human rights...
Constitutions as Peace Treaties: A Cautionary Tale for the Arab Spring
November 2011
In societies in transition, efforts to resolve deep divisions or fundamental disagreements about the nature of society through constitutional drafting may sharpen political differences and heighten...
People
Lanhee J. Chen Affiliated Faculty David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies, Hoover Institution, Director of Domestic Policy Studies and Lecturer, Public Policy Program 
Anat R. Admati Affiliated Faculty George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford University Graduate School of Business (GSB), Senior Fellow, SIEPR, Director of the GSB Corporations and Society Initiative , Professor by Courtesy, Department of Management Science and Engineering and Department of Economics 
Francis Fukuyama Senior Fellow Director, Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy, Professor, by courtesy, Political Science 
Michael A. McFaul Director, Senior Fellow Professor, Political Science, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution 
Hesham Sallam Research Scholar, CDDRL Associate Director and Research Associate, Program on Arab Reform and Democracy 