Machiavelli made his celebrated distinction between `the effective truth of things' and the `imaginary republics and monarchies that have never been seen or known to exist.' The scholarly study of international relations has generally sought to make research more manageable by cutting complex...

Using a new data set of the telecommunications sector on privatization (1981-98 for 167 countries) and competition policies (1990-98 for roughly 50 countries), this Paper investigates the political economy determinants of privatization and liberalization in the telecommunications sector....