This article examines common property institutions in Kenya, specifically among Maasai pastoralists.
The Theories:
* Rational choice scholarship offers two main explanations for institutional emergence: cooperation theory and conflict theory.
Our Approach:
* We evaluate these theories empirically to understand why political institutions change.
Contrasting Findings:
* Contrary to expectations, our results show that common property institution formation is best explained by conflict dynamics rather than cooperative ones.
* This finding challenges the intuitive link between peaceful collaboration and institutional creation.
Why It Matters:
* Our research demonstrates how conflict theory provides insights into real-world political transformations.
| Conflict, Cooperation, and Institutional Change on the Commons was authored by Eric A. Coleman and Esther Mwangi. It was published by Wiley in AJPS in 2015. |
