GIGA Working Papers

Contrary to expectations, this Africa-wide study finds that exposure to violent conflict is associated with lower support for wife-beating. This empirical discovery suggests that direct or proximate experience with violence may foster greater awareness of its harms, thereby reducing normative support for interpersonal violence.

Our mixed-methods study finds that exposure to violence increases support for ethnic federalism in Ethiopia. This effect is particularly pronounced among members of its three largest ethnic groups and individuals who believe members of their group to have been marginalized by the central government.

Can consulting improve productivity and employment among small firms in developing countries? Our rigorous impact evaluation in Côte d’Ivoire shows that while a light-touch consulting programme had only muted impacts on business practices and firm performance, job quality improved herewith.

The Islamic faith as a key factor influencing the integration of Muslim immigrants in Western Europe has been the subject of numerous studies by now. This Working Paper examines instead research findings in a non-European context, namely that of the multi-religious societies of Guyana and Suriname.

This Working Paper examines the practice of “voto consigna,” or the making of collective electoral decisions. Shown is how this practice protects the Uru indigenous minority people in Bolivia from outside influence while also making them vulnerable to patronage offers from political candidates.

Evidence shows a growing trend of chief executives personalising power in autocracies and democracies. Yet, scholarly focus remains siloed according to regime type. This Working Paper presents an overarching framework on the “Personalisation of Executive Power,” identifying the involved mechanisms.

The local labour-market impacts of special economic zones in Vietnam are examined. SEZs have led to a rapid shift in employment from agriculture and services to manufacturing, accompanied by wage increases and more formal employment, as benefitting most women and less educated younger individuals.

Non-state armed actors come in a variety of shapes including warlord-led groups. In war or lower-level armed conflict, and violence-prone contexts, these groups pose severe problems to peacebuilding, democratic governance, and sustainable development. This trend analysis maps cross-regional developments.

This Working Paper analyses the nature and effects of sanctions pressure imposed on authoritarian regimes, reviews mechanisms of how economic and diplomatic restrictions work, and examines authoritarian targets’ attempts to engage in pressure proofing.