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Establishing the Rule of Law in Weak and War-torn States: Evidence from a Field Experiment with the Liberian National Police

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  • BLAIR, ROBERT A.
  • KARIM, SABRINA M.
  • MORSE, BENJAMIN S.

Abstract

How to restore citizens’ trust and cooperation with the police in the wake of civil war? We report results from an experimental evaluation of the Liberian National Police’s (LNP) “Confidence Patrols†program, which deployed teams of newly retrained, better-equipped police officers on recurring patrols to rural communities across three Liberian counties over a period of 14 months. We find that the program increased knowledge of the police and Liberian law, enhanced security of property rights, and reduced the incidence of some types of crime, notably simple assault and domestic violence. The program did not, however, improve trust in the police, courts, or government more generally. We also observe higher rates of crime reporting in treatment communities, concentrated almost entirely among those who were disadvantaged under prevailing customary mechanisms of dispute resolution. We consider implications of these findings for post-conflict policing in Liberia and weak and war-torn states more generally.

Suggested Citation

  • Blair, Robert A. & Karim, Sabrina M. & Morse, Benjamin S., 2019. "Establishing the Rule of Law in Weak and War-torn States: Evidence from a Field Experiment with the Liberian National Police," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 113(3), pages 641-657, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:113:y:2019:i:3:p:641-657_3
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    5. Alexandra C. Hartman & Robert A. Blair & Christopher Blattman, 2018. "Engineering Informal Institutions: Long-run Impacts of Alternative Dispute Resolution on Violence and Property Rights in Liberia," NBER Working Papers 24482, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    7. Kate Bowers & Shane Johnson & Rob T. Guerette & Lucia Summers & Suzanne Poynton, 2011. "Spatial Displacement And Diffusion Of Benefits Among Geographically Focused Policing Initiatives," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(1), pages 1-144.
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    Cited by:

    1. Santoro, Fabrizio & Mascagni, Giulia, 2023. "Visual nudges: How deterrence and equity shape tax attitudes and behaviour in Rwanda," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    2. Nomikos, William George, 2021. "More Security, More Legitimacy? Effective Governance as a Source of State Legitimacy in Liberia," OSF Preprints hd28z, Center for Open Science.
    3. Omar Al-Ubaydli & Faith Fatchen & John List, 2024. "Using Field Experiments to Understand the Impact of Institutions on Economic Growth," Natural Field Experiments 00787, The Field Experiments Website.
    4. Michael Callen & Jonathan L. Weigel & Noam Yuchtman, 2023. "Experiments about Institutions," NBER Working Papers 31964, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Blair, Robert A. & Curtice, Travis & Dow, David & Grossman, Guy, 2022. "Public trust, policing, and the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from an electoral authoritarian regime," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    6. Donna Harris & Oana Borcan & Danila Serra & Henry Telli & Bruno Schettini & Stefan Dercon, 2022. "Proud to belong: The impact of ethics training on police officers," CSAE Working Paper Series 2022-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    7. Kong, NGUYEN To Hong, 2021. "State-to-state Trust in Post-leadership Change: Case Study of China-Japan Relations, 2009-2019," OSF Preprints hdbcy, Center for Open Science.
    8. Travis B. Curtice & Brandon Behlendorf, 2021. "Street-level Repression: Protest, Policing, and Dissent in Uganda," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 65(1), pages 166-194, January.
    9. Abril, Veronica & Perez-Vincent, Santiago & Tobon, Santiago & Vanegas-Arias, Martin, 2022. "How to measure public trust in the police? A framework with an application for Colombia," SocArXiv 89shw, Center for Open Science.
    10. Harris, Donna & Borcan, Oana & Serra, Danila & Telli, Henry & Schettini, Bruno & Dercon, Stefan, 2024. "Proud to Belong: The Impact of Ethics Training on Police Officers in Ghana," IZA Discussion Papers 17006, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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