Thesiss

What drives the foreign policies of autocratic states? Structural realists argue that, like all states, autocracies pursue their national interest by balancing power or threats in an anarchic world, defined by the distribution of material capabilities. Liberals believe that dome…

Governments often use the allocation of foreign aid when seeking to gain cooperation from and to boost the capacity of recipient governments in a variety of policy realms. However, there is no consensus among political scientists and economists about whether aid is actually a pr…

How do political leaders strategically manage fiscal policy formation to enhance their political survival? What are the implications of the fiscal mechanics of survival for theories of redistribution and democratic transition? This dissertation examines the complex relationship …