Raul Sanchez de la Sierra’s research focuses on how power is organized and exercised in society. His research studies how armed actors develop state functions instead of using their power to arbitrarily expropriate, how state power is controlled for the enforcement of contracts and how that competes with non-state forms of contract enforceability, how the real state organizes corruption, and what are the fundamental moral preferences associated with engaging in collective violence. His areas of study are predominantly various regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sicily, in Italy. His research is based on building close connections with the actors, while also designing ways that allow to gather detailed data for statistical analysis.
- On the Origins of Direct Rule: Armed Groups and Customary Chiefs in Eastern Congo • Social Origins of Militias: The Extraordinary Rise of “Outraged Citizens” • Seeing like a Citizen: Experimental Evidence on How Empowerment Affects Engagement with the State
- On the Importance of African Traditional Religion for Economic Behavior
- On The Governance of Corrupt Exchange: How Citizens and Officials Build Social Ties to Reduce Corruption’s Transaction Costs