Financial infrastructures are the lifeblood of political economies and are consistently considered critical by governments. They encapsulate socio-technical processes; not merely cables and computer servers, but the relationship of those in finance to these and other physical objects. The...

Armed groups routinely delegate domains of rule to village customary chiefs--indirect rule. The larger a chief's power over the villagers relative to the group's, the more there is indirect rule. Over time, enabled by the chief's efforts to legitimize the group, the group expands the taxes they...

Political checks and balances are certainly among the most debated desiderata in the construction of democratic systems and their evaluation. This paper suggests a conceptual framework that could be useful to inform this debate. We propose a model where the pros and cons of a strengthening of...

A central question in development economics is whether there are adequate checks and balances on the executive. This paper provides causal evidence on how increasing constraints on the executive, through the removal of Presidential discretion in judicial appointments, promotes the rule of law....

The unknown history of economic conservatism in India after independenceNeoliberalism is routinely characterized as an antidemocratic, expert-driven project aimed at insulating markets from politics, devised in the North Atlantic and projected on the rest of the world. Revising this...

Administration and accommodation : before 1913 -- The elite reformers in exile : 1913-1918 -- After the armistice : spring 1919 -- The budget debate : 1919-1920 -- The dark horse : 1920-1921 -- Early success : spring and summer 1921 -- Equal protection under law : 1921-1923 -- Backlash : spring...

Die Umbrüche in der arabischen Welt seit 2011 haben in drei Ländern zu Bürgerkriegen geführt: in Libyen, Syrien und im Jemen. In allen drei Fällen versuchen die Vereinten Nationen, Abkommen zwischen den Konfliktparteien zu vermitteln, die auf Befriedung durch Machtteilung zielen. Dabei kann...

The upheavals in the Arab world since 2011 have led to civil wars in three countries: Libya, Syria and Yemen. In all three cases, the United Nations have tried to mediate agreements between the conflicting parties to bring about peace through power-sharing. In this endeavour, the UN can lean on...

This book offers a pluralistic vision of the way economists have dealt with the question of power in society over the last two centuries. Economists’ ideas about power are examined from political, theoretical and policy-making points of view, with additional discussion of the active...

The first empirical study of the inner workings of South Africa's dysfunctional policy development process, exposing the challenges of large-scale policy overhaul and the frictions at the heart of the South African state

"$UPERHUBS is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how the world's most powerful titans, the "superhubs" pull the levers of our global financial system. Combining insider's knowledge with principles of network science, Sandra Navidi offers a startling new perspective on how superhubs build their...

Großunternehmen sind zentrale Akteure westlicher Gesellschaften. Sie üben massiven Einfluss auf das wirtschaftliche und politische Geschehen aus. Die Machtverteilung innerhalb von Großunternehmen ist daher eine Frage von gesellschaftlicher und politischer Tragweite. Am Beispiel des...

Super-hubs enthüllt, wie die Finanzelite und ihre mächtigen Netzwerke das Weltgeschehen - und damit unser aller Leben - beherrschen. Super-hubs sind die am besten vernetzten Knotenpunkte innerhalb des Finanznetzwerks, wie Milliardär George Soros, JP-Morgan-Chef Jamie Dimon und Blackrock-Boss...