Publication

This paper zeros in on a basic question: Rather than fall apart, why is it that rural communities in Nigeria that have been exposed to civil war-type violence become more cooperative and more willing to contribute to local public goods, particularly before another round of violence occurs? The answer is that such cooperation isn't necessarily an example of positive “social capital” in action. Instead, it's actually something more ambiguous -- i.e., it can be situationally adaptive and potentially aggressive “solidarity with an edge.”