Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

C
HAPTER
 13 : W
HY
 N
ATIONS
 F
AIL
 T
ODAY
For the BBC report on Mugabe’s lottery success, including the
public 
statement 
of 
Zimbank, 
see
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/621895.stm
.
Our treatment of the creation of white rule in Rhodesia follows
Palmer (1977) and Alexander (2006). Meredith (2007) provides a
good overview of more recent Zimbabwean politics.
Our account of the civil war in Sierra Leone follows Richards
(1996), Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2004), and Keen
(2005). The analysis published in a newspaper in the capital city of
Freetown in 1995 is quoted from Keen (2005), p. 34. The text of the
RUF’s “Footpaths to Democracy” can we found at 
www.sierra-
leone.org/AFRC-RUF/footpaths.html
.
The quotation from the teenager from Geoma is from Keen (2005),
p. 42.
Our discussion of the Colombian paramilitaries follows Acemoglu,
Robinson, and Santos (2010) and Chaves and Robinson (2010), which
in turn heavily rely on the extensive work by Colombian scholars,
particularly Romero (2003), the essays in Romero (2007), and López
(2010). León (2009) is an accessible and balanced account of the
nature of contemporary conflicts in Colombia. Also fundamental is
the Web site run by the weekly newspaper Semana,
www.verdadabierta.com/
. All the quotes come from Acemoglu,
Robinson, and Santos (2010). The contract between Martín Llanos
and the mayors in Casanare is available in Spanish at
www.verdadabierta.com/victimarios/los-jefes/714-perfil-hector-
german-buitrago-alias-martin-llanos
.
The origins and consequences of El Corralito are well presented in a
series of articles in The Economist magazine, available at
www.economist.com/search/apachesolr_search/corralito
.
On the role of the interior in Argentine development, see Sawers
(1996).
Hassig and Oh (2009) provides an excellent, valuable account of

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life in North Korea. Chap. 2 covers the luxurious lifestyle of the
leadership, and chaps. 3 and 4, the economic realities that most
people face. The BBC coverage of the currency reform can be found at
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8500017.stm
. On the pleasure palace and
brandy consumption, see chap. 12 of Post (2004).
Our discussion of child labor and its use for picking cotton in
Uzbeksitan 
follows 
Kandiyoti 
(2008), 
available 
at
www.soas.ac.uk/cccac/events/cotton-sector-in-central-asia-
2005/file49842.pdf
. The quote from Gulnaz is on p. 20 of Kandiyoti.
On the Andijon uprising, see International Crisis Group (2005). The
description of the election of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union is
reproduced from Denny (1937).
Our analysis of “crony capitalism” in Egypt follows Sfakianakis
(2004).

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