A major research evaluation undertaken by Uppsala University gives high marks to the research at the Department. The evaluation, known as Quality and Renewal 2011 (KoF11), comprised two different parts. Firstly, a peer-review process, conducted by distinguished scholars of the international research community. Secondly, a bibliometric study of publications in the period 2007–2010.
Read more about the evaluation.
Project Leader Magnus Öberg, PhD, Assistant Professor
2008 - 2011
Erik Melander, PhD, Assistant Professor
Margareta Sollenberg, PhD Candidate
Hanne Fjelde, PhD, Assistant Professor
Colonies were generally created without regard for local identities and authority structures. In former colonies therefore the state often lacks legitimacy. Instead rulers base their hold on power on informal networks of personalized relationships where rulers attract political loyalty in exchange for material rewards. If patronage dries up, competing claims to sovereignty often manifest themselves in power struggles that may become violent.
The purpose of this project is to investigate whether external economic factors that influence the supply of rents used to sustain patronage might undermine neo-patrimonial systems, leading to sometimes violent power struggles. Specifically we will investigate whether changes in certain economic factors (foreign aid, external patronage, and commodity prices), structural adjustment programs, and international financial crises might lead to an increased risk of civil conflict and violent coup d’états.
We plan a series of global studies to compare the effects of external economic change on the risk of civil conflict and coup d’états in countries with different systems of governance. We also plan in-depth studies of individual cases to analyze these processes in detail.
Understanding how external economic factors affect the risk of civil conflict and coup d’états in countries with different systems of governance is of some practical importance both for aid agencies and international financial institutions in designing their programs.
The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation
