Doctoral Dissertation Research: Legacy Institutions and Political Order in Weak States

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

General Summary This project investigates variation in the ability of non-state institutions to produce political order in weak states. In some places, chieftaincies, clans, sultanates, or kingdoms perform many of the functions of a state: enforcing legal codes, collecting taxes, guaranteeing property rights, and ensuring security. The leaders of some such institutions demonstrate an impressive command over their followers. Yet in other places, residents feel free to disobey their leaders with impunity. The PI examines why leaders of some non-state institutions are able to command compliance from their followers while others are not. To address this question, the project employs both ethnographic techniques and a survey experiment in peripheral regions of Chad, which ranked sixth on the 2014 Fragile States Index. This project contributes to understanding about the mechanisms that relate to governance, order, legitimacy, and compliance in poor and developing countries. Understanding these mechanisms is particularly important to policy makers who are interested in governmental stability and accountability. Technical Summary The project will conduct survey experiments to test for differences in degree to which legacy institution leaders can induce compliance among their followers. The key randomized manipulation will be whether a directive has the backing of a legacy institution leader. The PI will test two outcomes. Contributions made in a version of the "dictator game" is the first outcome that is measured. The respondent decides whether and how much to contribute to an apolitical development project for the region. The randomized treatment is an endorsement from a legacy institution leader. Whether participants return to a development-related information session is the second outcome measured. The PI hypothesizes that "treated" respondents--those who hear an endorsement from a legacy institution leader--will be more likely to contribute to the project and to attend the meeting. The PI uses Chad as the country of interest. This project contributes to understanding about the mechanisms that relate to governance, order, and compliance in poor and developing countries.