**Excerpt from the introduction**:
Gunfights are generally bad for business. This is true even if your business is illicit, like selling drugs. Street violence scares away prospective customers and employees, attracts unwanted attention from police, …
Authors Christensen and Laitin argue that an interplay of geographic, historical, and demographic factors undergird sub-Saharan states' post-independence struggles to eradicate poverty, establish democratic accountability, and quell civil unrest. …