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Conflict, Cooperation, and Institutional Change on the Commons
Author(s) -
Coleman Eric A.,
Mwangi Esther
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
american journal of political science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.347
H-Index - 170
eISSN - 1540-5907
pISSN - 0092-5853
DOI - 10.1111/ajps.12137
Subject(s) - maasai , commons , scholarship , conflict theories , pastoralism , property (philosophy) , political science , politics , principal (computer security) , positive economics , sociology , political economy , law and economics , geography , conflict resolution , epistemology , socioeconomics , economics , law , livestock , philosophy , forestry , tanzania , computer science , operating system
Rational choice scholarship posits two principal theories to explain why political institutions emerge and change: cooperation theory and conflict theory. We evaluate cooperation theory and conflict theory to explain the emergence of common property institutions among a group of Maasai pastoralists in southwestern Kenya. Our empirical results show that the change to common property is best explained by conflict theory.