Danielle F. Jung

Organizing for Resistance: How Group Structure Impacts the Character of Violence

How does the way in which a group organizes change the lethality of the groups attacks? In this article, we argue that groups organized vertically as hierarchies are likely to conduct more lethal attacks. We build our argument around three advantages inherent to centralized structures: functional differentiation, clear command and control structures, and accountability. We argue that each of these characteristics positively impacts an organizations ability to deliver an effective lethal blow. To test our argument, we use a mixed method approach, drawing on empirical evidence and support from a time-series case study. Our large-N analysis examines the trends in more than 19,000 attacks. In this test we develop a novel proxy measure for hierarchy based on a groups bases of operation and non-violent activities. To complement the empirical work, we examine the history of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), the Basque separatist group. Over several decades of violent operations, this groups structure has changed dramatically. We analyze how these shifts impacted ETAs ability to maximize the effectiveness and damage of their attacks. In both the case study and large-N analysis, the more hierarchically organized the group, the more easily the group can orchestrate lethal attacks.

Improving Electoral Integrity with Information and Communications Technology

Irregularities plague elections in developing democracies. The international community spends hundreds of millions of dollars on election observation, with little robust evidence that it consistently improves electoral integrity. We conducted a randomized control trial to measure the effect of an intervention to detect and deter electoral irregularities employing a nation-wide sample of polling stations in Uganda using scalable information and communications technology (ICT). In treatment stations, researchers delivered letters to polling officials stating that tallies would be photographed using smartphones and compared against official results. Compared to stations with no letters, the letters increased the frequency of posted tallies by polling center managers in compliance with the law; decreased the number of sequential digits found on tallies – a fraud indicator; and decreased the vote share for the incumbent president in some specifications. Our results demonstrate that a cost-effective citizen and ICT intervention can improve electoral integrity in emerging democracies.

Negotiating with Rebels: The Effect of Rebel Service Provision on Conflict Negotiations

When rebels provide social services, do they have more leverage negotiating the terms of a peace deal? The literature suggests service-providing groups may, on average, have a wider base of support and a more centralized organizational structure. We argue that these features deter potential spoilers from breaking away from the organization during negotiation processes. This, in turn, makes governments more willing to enter negotiations since the threat from spoilers is smaller. Thus, compared to nonproviders, service-providing rebels are more likely to engage in negotiations and these processes are likely to be more stable. This article analyzes these propositions by gathering service provision data on nearly 400 rebel groups and their involvement in and behavior during peace talks. It also serves as an introduction to a larger project about the implications of rebel service provision on conflict outcomes.

Competing for Constituents: Trends in Terrorist Service Provision

ABSTRACT What shapes the types of services terrorist and insurgent groups provide? Research on these organizations provides mounting evidence that understanding the nonviolent strategies of violent groups is critical to a complete picture of conflict dynamics. We add to this work, using a longitudinal measure of terrorist service provision coverage across a number of service sectors to evaluate hypotheses concerning the drivers of terrorist service provision to understand which services groups provide. Here, we are interested in understanding patterns of service provision: which groups provide services where, and whether and how that decision is reactive to the state context. Specifically we look to see if groups are likely to provide services as complements or substitutes to the state in the competition for constituents. We find terrorist groups challenge the state in service provision in less capital-intensive sectors, such as education, while avoiding competition in more capital-intensive sectors, such as healthcare. We also find service provision varies over a group’s lifetime, likely in response to counterterrorism efforts. As a group ages and strengthens, it is also more likely to provide a broader array of services. Finally, we observe that service-providers tend to have longer lifespans.

David A. Lake: Master Builder

Builders make something original out of familiar raw materials, creating handiwork with a vision, a structure, and a logic to hold it all together. David A. Lake is a quintessential builder in all senses of the word. When Lake provides an answer, all of the intellectual buildings blocks are visible, the logic clear. He thinks big, but starts with the microfoundations of political phenomena to assemble the pieces in innovative ways. Intellectually, Lake is and always has been motivated by big questions about how international order is constructed. Since his early days, he has worked to make sense of often complicated literatures in international relations to understand relations between states in the system, and the reasons for their decisions. In his research, he has rigorously parsed what it means for states to build order, arguing order is actively constructed. Most significantly, Lake has pioneered the use of relational contracting in political science to explore phenomena as diverse as trade (e.g., “Open Economy Politics”), security and insecurity (Entangling Relations), international hierarchy (Hierarchy in International Relations), conflict, NGOs, and most recently, statebuilding (The Statebuilder’s Dilemma). Institutionally, he has been a leader in the discipline, providing public goods for many different communities. Lake has served as president of the International Studies Association and now the American Political Science Association, coedited the flagship international relations journal International Organization, and held major senior administrative positions at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Lake also shepherded the founding of the influential International Political Economy Society (IPES), whose meetings are enthusiastically attended and create opportunities for junior and senior scholars to mingle in a tight-knit community. Collegially, Lake is generous with his time and open-minded in his knowledge and curiosity, taking the time to build up and build on nascent ideas. He has mentored scores of students and colleagues, including many whose work does not align completely—or at all—with his own research agenda; yet, he never passes up the chance to help make arguments better on the author’s own terms. He reads widely and deeply, and does not hesitate to expound on the importance of ancient ruler Sargon of Akkad in the same breath as discussing the intricacies of contract theory. In the spirit of full disclosure, we are Lake’s former students at the University of California, San Diego. While the two of us work from very different traditions and methodologies, we have also coauthored since graduate school, in large part because of the lessons Lake taught us about building knowledge through collaboration. We aim in this essay to convey Lake’s insightfulness, generosity, and commitment to scholarship and mentoring, in addition to the development of international relations within political science as he takes the helm of our association. We take this opportunity to share the various dimensions of Lake’s role as a builder of political science and political scientists. Given the breadth of his publications (more than 60 articles and chapters, four solo-authored books, and ten edited volumes to date) with a popular undergraduate textbook, this is admittedly a challenging task. His work has re-oriented new and existing scholars to the usefulness of rational choice frameworks in political science across many literatures. In exploring his publication record, we also highlight his simultaneous, extensive service to the field that began long before this APSA Danielle F. Jung is assistant professor of political science at Emory University. She can be reached at danielle.jung@ emory.edu. Wendy H. Wong is associate professor of political science and director of the Trudeau Centre for Peace, Conflict and Justice, Munk School of Global Affairs, at the University of Toronto. She can be reached at wendyh.wong@ utoronto.ca. 2016–2017 APSA President