Third-party funded projects

DFG-Project „Devolving the Monopoly on Violence“, 2024-2027

 For large segments of the global population, the promises of the “Weberian” state—characterized by a clearly defined monopoly on the legitimate use of force and a functioning, professional bureaucracy—remain unfulfilled. In many regions, the state fails to maintain control over violence due to absent or weak formal institutions, corruption, or even active contributions to insecurity. In such environments, both states and citizens often turn to alternative mechanisms of governance and order. In Somalia, for example, clan-based systems of conflict resolution have assumed central roles. In rural Afghanistan, traditional councils and tribal militias have stepped in where the central government is unable to provide security. In southern Mexico, in response to high levels of criminal violence, some communities have invoked constitutional rights to replace state institutions with traditional forms of self-governance.

This project examines the effects of devolving state functions to traditional institutions, using Mexico as a case study. By leveraging spatial and temporal variation in structural conditions and legal frameworks, the research analyzes how context and institutional features shape outcomes. The project is conducted in collaboration with Stanford University and four intercultural universities in Mexico. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), it seeks to expand our understanding of institutional arrangements in insecure contexts and to generate insights for peacebuilding strategies that go beyond the dominant state-centric paradigm. The project is scheduled for completion by February 2027.

Members of a militia in uniform
© Enrique Castro
Mexico map for sampling
© Alexander De Juan

Completed projects

2020 – 2023 | Micro-level determinants and consequences of militia performance, DFG
  • Applicant and head of project; volume EUR 540,000
  • Research question: “What explains militia performance and how does militia performance affect state legitimacy?”
  • Methods: perception surveys, qualitative analyses in Afghanistan and Mexico
2021 – 2023 | The impact of information on aid outcomes, KfW
  • Applicant and head of project with Carlo Koos; volume EUR 660,000
  • Research question: “How do information campaigns among beneficiary and non-beneficiary populations influence attitudinal effects of aid interventions?”
  • Methods: telephone surveys in conflict-affected areas of Mali and Niger, survey experiment
2019 – 2022 | Land Acquisitions and Social Conflict, BMZ
  • Applicant and head of project with Jann Lay; volume EUR 500,000
  • Research question: How do large-scale land acquisitions influence local institutions, social change and conflicts?
  • Methods: quantitative analysis of household surveys, “public-goods” experiment in Liberia and Indonesia
2018 – 2020 | The Anatomy of Repression in Authoritarian States, DSF
  • Applicant and head of project; volume: EUR 98,000
  • Analysis of personnel files of the secret service (Staatssicherheit) of the Former German Democratic Republic
  • Research question: How do bureaucratic dysfunctions influence patterns of state repression?
  • Methods: quantitative analyses and quasi-experimental approaches based on archive data of the State Security of the German Democratic Republic (GDR)
2014 – 2016 | Local Conflict and the Local State, DFG
  • Applicant and head of project; volume: EUR 280,000
  • Research question: “What is the Role of Public Basic Service Delivery in Low-Level Violence against the State?”
  • Methods: quantitative analysis and field research in Nepal and South Africa
2016 – 2016 | Impact Evaluation - “Peace Fund”, BMZ
  • Applicant and head of project with Eva Wegner, Miquel Pellicer and Carlo Koos; volume: EUR 150,000
  • Research question: "What were the effects of the peace fund (reconstruction project with a volume of 50 million euros) in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo?"
  • Methods: opinion survey (approx. 1400 households); quasi-experiment 
2014 – 2016 | From Civil War to Social Contract, BMZ/KfW
  • Applicant and head of project; volume: EUR 199,000
  • Research question: “What are the Determinants of Political Trust in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States?”
  • Methods: opinion surveys (n>1500) and in-depth qualitative field research in Burundi, Afghanistan, and Peru
2014 – 2016 | Territorial Dynamics of Colonial State-Building, Gerda Henkel Foundation
  • Applicant and head of project with Jan Pierskalla; volume: EUR 93,000
  • Research question: “What Factors Shape Spatial Patterns of State-Building?”
  • Methods: quantitative analysis; data from two newly compiled historical datasets on former German colonies