Vol. 16 No. 1 (2021)

This issue commences with a standalone article by Marianne Dahl, Scott Gates, Kristian Skrede Gleditsch and Belén González which uses a simple bargaining model, backed up by empirical analysis, showing that nonviolent and violent mobilization may arise from similar motives, but different movement characteristics are likely to give a comparative advantage to one or the other tactic.

The issues then goes on to contain the first part of the articles selected from a symposium on Middle East and North African (MENA) conflict. “Warlord politics and economic clientelism in Lebanon” examines the interplay of the political, economics, and social factors that led to the current economic and political crisis. “Restructuring state power in Sudan”  studies Sudan’s protracted conflict(s), progression made during the current peace agreement, and how competitions between military and security elites have plagued Sudan’s economy. “Humanitarian aid and war economies: The case of Yemen” examines this case of a country forced to cope with one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world today. “Did the Qatar blockade work? Evidence from trade and consumer welfare three years after the blockade” examines the effects of the embargo (blockade) imposed on Qatar in June 2017 by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain.