Adrienne Lebas
Biographic Data
| ID | 678969 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Adrienne Lebas |
| GIVEN NAMES | Adrienne |
| FAMILY NAME | Lebas |
| SIGNATURE | LEBAS A |
| AFFILIATIONS | American University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9144-6205 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 275 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 18 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Strategic Taxation
Taxation and Social Intermediaries
Tax collection is difficult in low-income countries, and bureaucracies exist alongside non-state actors that extract revenue and provide services informally. Might weak states leverage these actors’ strengths to collect taxes, or should they invest in building fiscal capacity on their own? We conducted a field experiment in Lagos, Nigeria that randomly assigned market vendors to tax appeals delivered by state or non-state agents. Contrary to expe…
Repression and Dissent in Moments of Uncertainty
State repression and protest are common in modern authoritarian and hybrid regimes, yet individual responses to these events are not well understood. This article draws on unique panel data from the months spanning Zimbabwe's 2018 election, which we view as a moment of uncertainty for most Zimbabwean citizens. Using a difference-in-difference estimator, we estimate change in individual protest intentions following exposure to repression and disse…
Authoritarian experience and electoral success
Since the early 1990s, many African countries have instituted multiparty elections and experienced electoral turnover. Despite this apparent change, politics in many places remains dominated by politicians who defected from the former authoritarian ruling party and won power on rival party tickets. Kenya is seen as a paradigmatic case of this kind of authoritarian "diaspora". After the defeat of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) in 2002, th…
Who Trusts? Ethnicity, Integration, and Attitudes Toward Elected Officials in Urban Nigeria
In the developing world, politicians often use public office to redistribute resources to their core constituencies. This form of clientelistic exchange motivates ethnic voting in Africa and may also shape broader attitudes toward the state. But does clientelism retain its power as cross-ethnic contact increases, or might new forms of political linkage emerge? This article uses public opinion data from urban Nigeria to investigate how social posi…
Does electoral violence affect vote choice and willingness to vote? Conjoint analysis of a vignette experiment
Across many new democracies, voters routinely elect candidates associated with violence. Though electoral violence is common, there is little understanding of how it affects voting behaviour. This article examines how electoral violence affects turnout and vote choice. To this end, a vignette experiment is set in a nationally representative survey in Kenya, where electoral violence has been present since the 1990s. In the experiment, voters choos…
Elite Conflict, Compromise, and Enduring Authoritarianism
How do elites play a role in crafting polarization? And what effects do elite-led conflicts have on democracy and mass politics? To examine these questions, we compare two separate episodes of party-based polarization in Zimbabwe, from 1980 to 1987 and from 2000 to 2008. Each of these moments of polarization ended in an elite power-sharing settlement, but a comparison of the two moments yields insights about both the causes of polarization and it…
State, Society, and Informality in Cities of the Global South
Can Polarization Be Positive? Conflict and Institutional Development in Africa
Can political polarization, typically viewed as detrimental for political development, have positive effects on institution-building and democratization in the long run? This article argues that the overall impact of polarization on a political system is determined by two factors: the character of preexisting identity cleavages and the balance of forces between groups on either side of the political divide. Where there exists a history of formal …
Term Limits and Beyond
Executives are able to act with impunity because there is no strong, organized opposition to challenge entrenched incumbents and push them toward a genuine political opening
The Origins of Voluntary Compliance
The Origins of Voluntary Compliance
Voluntary compliance is an important aspect of strong tax regimes, but there is limited understanding of how social norms favoring compliance emerge. Using novel data from urban Nigeria, where tax enforcement is weak, this article shows that individuals with a positive experience of state services delivery are more likely to express belief in an unconditioned citizen obligation to pay tax. In addition to support for this fiscal exchange mechanism…
A New Twilight in Zimababwe
So far, most analyses of Zimbabwe’s 2013 elections have focused more on whether the contests were rigged than on why four years of power sharing failed to level the electoral playing field. In the author’s view, there are two main reasons that power sharing undermined—rather than enhanced—the prospects for democratization in Zimbabwe. First, there were significant flaws in the structure and the implementation of the 2008 Global Political Agreemen…
Violence and Urban Order in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria
Labor Control Regimes in Zambia and Kenya
Chapter 4 examines the different paths that state–labor relations took in the book’s two other cases, Zambia and Kenya. As in Zimbabwe, the Zambian state passed legislation that strengthened and centralized the labor movement, and the ruling party saw trade unions as partners in governance. In the decades following independence, this party–union alliance was challenged by grassroots strike activity and by greater confrontation between the state a…
From Protest to Parties
Examines differences in opposition party strength in hybrid regimes in Africa and relates some parties' ability to transcend ethnic cleavages to past patterns of authoritarian rule
Polarization as Craft
In September 1997, just prior to the winter harvest, Zimbabwean commercial farm workers went on strike for the first time in history. Ten thousand farm laborers assem bled in the middle of the main eastern highway, where they sang revolutionary songs, chanted slogans, and listened to addresses from their union representatives. Eventually, the workers dispersed, allowing traffic to resume on the road, but workers said they would not resume working…
Une alliance qui se délite
En dépit d'importantes pressions extérieures et de tensions intérieures, le parti au pouvoir à Harare est parvenu, depuis les élections parlementaires de juin 2000, à conserver son unité et à maintenir son contrôle sur des segments sociaux clés. Le présent article analyse comment la violence politique, le déclin économique et une rhétorique sans nuances ont contribué à renforcer sa domination sur l'arène politique. Toutefois, de récentes évolutio…
Polarization as Craft
In September 1997, just prior to the winter harvest, Zimbabwean commercial farm workers went on strike for the first time in history. Ten thousand farm laborers assem bled in the middle of the main eastern highway, where they sang revolutionary songs, chanted slogans, and listened to addresses from their union representatives. Eventually, the workers dispersed, allowing traffic to resume on the road, but workers said they would not resume working…
The Origins of Voluntary Compliance
Voluntary compliance is an important aspect of strong tax regimes, but there is limited understanding of how social norms favoring compliance emerge. Using novel data from urban Nigeria, where tax enforcement is weak, this article shows that individuals with a positive experience of state services delivery are more likely to express belief in an unconditioned citizen obligation to pay tax. In addition to support for this fiscal exchange mechanism…
Does electoral violence affect vote choice and willingness to vote? Conjoint analysis of a vignette experiment
Across many new democracies, voters routinely elect candidates associated with violence. Though electoral violence is common, there is little understanding of how it affects voting behaviour. This article examines how electoral violence affects turnout and vote choice. To this end, a vignette experiment is set in a nationally representative survey in Kenya, where electoral violence has been present since the 1990s. In the experiment, voters choos…
Violence and Urban Order in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria
State, Society, and Informality in Cities of the Global South
Can Polarization Be Positive? Conflict and Institutional Development in Africa
Can political polarization, typically viewed as detrimental for political development, have positive effects on institution-building and democratization in the long run? This article argues that the overall impact of polarization on a political system is determined by two factors: the character of preexisting identity cleavages and the balance of forces between groups on either side of the political divide. Where there exists a history of formal …
A New Twilight in Zimababwe
So far, most analyses of Zimbabwe’s 2013 elections have focused more on whether the contests were rigged than on why four years of power sharing failed to level the electoral playing field. In the author’s view, there are two main reasons that power sharing undermined—rather than enhanced—the prospects for democratization in Zimbabwe. First, there were significant flaws in the structure and the implementation of the 2008 Global Political Agreemen…
Repression and Dissent in Moments of Uncertainty
State repression and protest are common in modern authoritarian and hybrid regimes, yet individual responses to these events are not well understood. This article draws on unique panel data from the months spanning Zimbabwe's 2018 election, which we view as a moment of uncertainty for most Zimbabwean citizens. Using a difference-in-difference estimator, we estimate change in individual protest intentions following exposure to repression and disse…
Authoritarian experience and electoral success
Since the early 1990s, many African countries have instituted multiparty elections and experienced electoral turnover. Despite this apparent change, politics in many places remains dominated by politicians who defected from the former authoritarian ruling party and won power on rival party tickets. Kenya is seen as a paradigmatic case of this kind of authoritarian "diaspora". After the defeat of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) in 2002, th…
Who Trusts? Ethnicity, Integration, and Attitudes Toward Elected Officials in Urban Nigeria
In the developing world, politicians often use public office to redistribute resources to their core constituencies. This form of clientelistic exchange motivates ethnic voting in Africa and may also shape broader attitudes toward the state. But does clientelism retain its power as cross-ethnic contact increases, or might new forms of political linkage emerge? This article uses public opinion data from urban Nigeria to investigate how social posi…
Elite Conflict, Compromise, and Enduring Authoritarianism
How do elites play a role in crafting polarization? And what effects do elite-led conflicts have on democracy and mass politics? To examine these questions, we compare two separate episodes of party-based polarization in Zimbabwe, from 1980 to 1987 and from 2000 to 2008. Each of these moments of polarization ended in an elite power-sharing settlement, but a comparison of the two moments yields insights about both the causes of polarization and it…
Une alliance qui se délite
En dépit d'importantes pressions extérieures et de tensions intérieures, le parti au pouvoir à Harare est parvenu, depuis les élections parlementaires de juin 2000, à conserver son unité et à maintenir son contrôle sur des segments sociaux clés. Le présent article analyse comment la violence politique, le déclin économique et une rhétorique sans nuances ont contribué à renforcer sa domination sur l'arène politique. Toutefois, de récentes évolutio…
Polarization as Craft
In September 1997, just prior to the winter harvest, Zimbabwean commercial farm workers went on strike for the first time in history. Ten thousand farm laborers assem bled in the middle of the main eastern highway, where they sang revolutionary songs, chanted slogans, and listened to addresses from their union representatives. Eventually, the workers dispersed, allowing traffic to resume on the road, but workers said they would not resume working…
Labor Control Regimes in Zambia and Kenya
Chapter 4 examines the different paths that state–labor relations took in the book’s two other cases, Zambia and Kenya. As in Zimbabwe, the Zambian state passed legislation that strengthened and centralized the labor movement, and the ruling party saw trade unions as partners in governance. In the decades following independence, this party–union alliance was challenged by grassroots strike activity and by greater confrontation between the state a…
From Protest to Parties
Examines differences in opposition party strength in hybrid regimes in Africa and relates some parties' ability to transcend ethnic cleavages to past patterns of authoritarian rule
Violence and Urban Order in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria
A New Twilight in Zimababwe
So far, most analyses of Zimbabwe’s 2013 elections have focused more on whether the contests were rigged than on why four years of power sharing failed to level the electoral playing field. In the author’s view, there are two main reasons that power sharing undermined—rather than enhanced—the prospects for democratization in Zimbabwe. First, there were significant flaws in the structure and the implementation of the 2008 Global Political Agreemen…
Term Limits and Beyond
Executives are able to act with impunity because there is no strong, organized opposition to challenge entrenched incumbents and push them toward a genuine political opening
The Origins of Voluntary Compliance
The Origins of Voluntary Compliance
Voluntary compliance is an important aspect of strong tax regimes, but there is limited understanding of how social norms favoring compliance emerge. Using novel data from urban Nigeria, where tax enforcement is weak, this article shows that individuals with a positive experience of state services delivery are more likely to express belief in an unconditioned citizen obligation to pay tax. In addition to support for this fiscal exchange mechanism…
State, Society, and Informality in Cities of the Global South
Can Polarization Be Positive? Conflict and Institutional Development in Africa
Can political polarization, typically viewed as detrimental for political development, have positive effects on institution-building and democratization in the long run? This article argues that the overall impact of polarization on a political system is determined by two factors: the character of preexisting identity cleavages and the balance of forces between groups on either side of the political divide. Where there exists a history of formal …
Elite Conflict, Compromise, and Enduring Authoritarianism
How do elites play a role in crafting polarization? And what effects do elite-led conflicts have on democracy and mass politics? To examine these questions, we compare two separate episodes of party-based polarization in Zimbabwe, from 1980 to 1987 and from 2000 to 2008. Each of these moments of polarization ended in an elite power-sharing settlement, but a comparison of the two moments yields insights about both the causes of polarization and it…
Who Trusts? Ethnicity, Integration, and Attitudes Toward Elected Officials in Urban Nigeria
In the developing world, politicians often use public office to redistribute resources to their core constituencies. This form of clientelistic exchange motivates ethnic voting in Africa and may also shape broader attitudes toward the state. But does clientelism retain its power as cross-ethnic contact increases, or might new forms of political linkage emerge? This article uses public opinion data from urban Nigeria to investigate how social posi…
Does electoral violence affect vote choice and willingness to vote? Conjoint analysis of a vignette experiment
Across many new democracies, voters routinely elect candidates associated with violence. Though electoral violence is common, there is little understanding of how it affects voting behaviour. This article examines how electoral violence affects turnout and vote choice. To this end, a vignette experiment is set in a nationally representative survey in Kenya, where electoral violence has been present since the 1990s. In the experiment, voters choos…
Authoritarian experience and electoral success
Since the early 1990s, many African countries have instituted multiparty elections and experienced electoral turnover. Despite this apparent change, politics in many places remains dominated by politicians who defected from the former authoritarian ruling party and won power on rival party tickets. Kenya is seen as a paradigmatic case of this kind of authoritarian "diaspora". After the defeat of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) in 2002, th…
Repression and Dissent in Moments of Uncertainty
State repression and protest are common in modern authoritarian and hybrid regimes, yet individual responses to these events are not well understood. This article draws on unique panel data from the months spanning Zimbabwe's 2018 election, which we view as a moment of uncertainty for most Zimbabwean citizens. Using a difference-in-difference estimator, we estimate change in individual protest intentions following exposure to repression and disse…
Strategic Taxation
Taxation and Social Intermediaries
Tax collection is difficult in low-income countries, and bureaucracies exist alongside non-state actors that extract revenue and provide services informally. Might weak states leverage these actors’ strengths to collect taxes, or should they invest in building fiscal capacity on their own? We conducted a field experiment in Lagos, Nigeria that randomly assigned market vendors to tax appeals delivered by state or non-state agents. Contrary to expe…
Political science (16 works) · Economics (14 works) · Law (14 works) · Politics (12 works) · Political economy (11 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (9 works) · Democracy (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Development economics (5 works)