Matthew K. Ribar
@mattkribar.bsky.social
Postdoctoral fellow in political science @weidenbaumcenter.bsky.social. I study the political economy of land, development, and informality in West Africa. https://matthewkribar.com/
Very happy that my paper “Belonging, Violence, and Natural Resource Governance: Experimental Evidence from Mali and Niger” (with Alma Bezares Calderón, Simon Mercer, and Ifeoluwa Olawole) is out at the Journal of Peace Research
doi.org/10.1093/jopr...
doi.org/10.1093/jopr...
Belonging, violence, and natural resource governance: experimental evidence from Mali and Niger
Abstract. The presence of non-state armed groups in the Sahel complicates effective natural resource governance, which is critical for conflict resolution,
doi.org
October 12, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Very happy that my paper “Belonging, Violence, and Natural Resource Governance: Experimental Evidence from Mali and Niger” (with Alma Bezares Calderón, Simon Mercer, and Ifeoluwa Olawole) is out at the Journal of Peace Research
doi.org/10.1093/jopr...
doi.org/10.1093/jopr...
Sticking around at APSA until Sunday? Come listen to me talk about the political economy of land tenure formalization in Cote d’Ivoire. This paper (joint with Cathy Boone) uses newly digitized administrative data to understand who goes `the last mile’ from land certification to land titling.
African Political Economy
Sun, September 6, 10:00 to 11:30, Marriott, Salon A
How do state policies, institutions, and external actors shape political and economic dynamics across African countries?
@mattkribar.bsky.social @allisong.bsky.social @dyzenhaus.bsky.social
Sun, September 6, 10:00 to 11:30, Marriott, Salon A
How do state policies, institutions, and external actors shape political and economic dynamics across African countries?
@mattkribar.bsky.social @allisong.bsky.social @dyzenhaus.bsky.social
September 1, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Sticking around at APSA until Sunday? Come listen to me talk about the political economy of land tenure formalization in Cote d’Ivoire. This paper (joint with Cathy Boone) uses newly digitized administrative data to understand who goes `the last mile’ from land certification to land titling.
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
From our May Issue: Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa by @mattkribar.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1017/S000...
May 25, 2026 at 2:03 PM
From our May Issue: Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa by @mattkribar.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
Yes, it is very well documented that M**k and the sneering staffers who did his bidding causes mass death all over the world, deaths that continue to mount each day that the illegal closure of USAID continues.
That impact analysis has been done, by leading independent experts.
Here it is, open-access in the @thelancet.com —>
doi.org/10.1016/S014...
"The complete defunding of USAID would cause an estimated 2,450,000 all-age deaths annually."
Two. And a half. Million. Deaths. Each year.
Here it is, open-access in the @thelancet.com —>
doi.org/10.1016/S014...
"The complete defunding of USAID would cause an estimated 2,450,000 all-age deaths annually."
Two. And a half. Million. Deaths. Each year.
April 14, 2026 at 2:20 AM
Yes, it is very well documented that M**k and the sneering staffers who did his bidding causes mass death all over the world, deaths that continue to mount each day that the illegal closure of USAID continues.
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
BREAKING: Following the American threat of an “Avignon Papacy,” Robert Kennedy has begun a Diet of Worms
April 8, 2026 at 11:46 PM
BREAKING: Following the American threat of an “Avignon Papacy,” Robert Kennedy has begun a Diet of Worms
This piece will be incredibly valuable if---like me---you've been using Murdock's ethnographic atlas for years to measure precolonial centralization but have always wondered if there was something better. Now there is!
From our FirstView articles: A Precolonial Paradox? Rethinking Political Centralization and Its Legacies by MARTHA WILFAHRT. doi.org/10.1017/S000...
March 31, 2026 at 10:00 PM
This piece will be incredibly valuable if---like me---you've been using Murdock's ethnographic atlas for years to measure precolonial centralization but have always wondered if there was something better. Now there is!
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
There's a long, bad journalistic tradition: All conservative grass-roots political movements are fascinating heartland phenomena, all progressive grass-roots political movements are ineffectual bleating. This one is written off as powered by white female college grads--the wine-moms slur, basically.
March 28, 2026 at 7:25 PM
There's a long, bad journalistic tradition: All conservative grass-roots political movements are fascinating heartland phenomena, all progressive grass-roots political movements are ineffectual bleating. This one is written off as powered by white female college grads--the wine-moms slur, basically.
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
From our FirstView article: Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa by @mattkribar.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa | American Political Science Review | Cambridge Core
Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa
doi.org
March 27, 2026 at 11:35 PM
From our FirstView article: Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa by @mattkribar.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
The call for 2026 APCG Award Nominations is live! The deadline for nominations is May 1st.
Nominate scholars for Best Dissertation, Best Graduate Student Paper, Distinguished Africanist, Best Article and Best Book!
www.afpol.org/blog/2026-ap...
Nominate scholars for Best Dissertation, Best Graduate Student Paper, Distinguished Africanist, Best Article and Best Book!
www.afpol.org/blog/2026-ap...
2026 APCG Award Nominations
The 2026 APCG Award nominations are now open and due May 1st! Nominate scholars for Best Dissertation, Best Graduate Student Paper, Distinguished Africanist, Best Article and Best Book.
www.afpol.org
March 20, 2026 at 10:07 AM
The call for 2026 APCG Award Nominations is live! The deadline for nominations is May 1st.
Nominate scholars for Best Dissertation, Best Graduate Student Paper, Distinguished Africanist, Best Article and Best Book!
www.afpol.org/blog/2026-ap...
Nominate scholars for Best Dissertation, Best Graduate Student Paper, Distinguished Africanist, Best Article and Best Book!
www.afpol.org/blog/2026-ap...
Scenes from fieldwork on land tenure and land conflict in rural Liberia:
February 20, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Scenes from fieldwork on land tenure and land conflict in rural Liberia:
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
Why do so few African farmers get land titles despite easy access? Matthew Ribar's @apsrjournal article reveals: village chiefs block them in centralized countries, but push them in decentralized ones. Read clear summary by @deborah_saki on PSNow
Why Do So Few African Farmers Have Land Titles?: An APSA Public Scholarship Program Summary
In the APSA Public Scholarship Program, graduate students in political science produce summaries of new research in the American Political Science Review. This piece, written by Deborah Saki, covers the new article by Matthew K. Ribar, Stanford University, "Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa". In developed economies, owning land usually comes with paperwork such as a deed, a title, or some official proof of ownership.
politicalsciencenow.com
February 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Why do so few African farmers get land titles despite easy access? Matthew Ribar's @apsrjournal article reveals: village chiefs block them in centralized countries, but push them in decentralized ones. Read clear summary by @deborah_saki on PSNow
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
So now we can see the official report of what happened to PEPFAR coverage in 2025 compared to 2024.
14.5m fewer people received testing and counselling (leading to a 400k drop in positive tests)
100,000 fewer on ARVs
1.6m drop in ART patients with documented viral load
14.5m fewer people received testing and counselling (leading to a 400k drop in positive tests)
100,000 fewer on ARVs
1.6m drop in ART patients with documented viral load
January 28, 2026 at 3:42 PM
So now we can see the official report of what happened to PEPFAR coverage in 2025 compared to 2024.
14.5m fewer people received testing and counselling (leading to a 400k drop in positive tests)
100,000 fewer on ARVs
1.6m drop in ART patients with documented viral load
14.5m fewer people received testing and counselling (leading to a 400k drop in positive tests)
100,000 fewer on ARVs
1.6m drop in ART patients with documented viral load
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
Downfall Bovino Edition. You're welcome.
January 27, 2026 at 5:36 AM
Downfall Bovino Edition. You're welcome.
An academic question: what's your threshold for peer-review delays that would cause you to withdraw the paper from the journal? I submitted a paper on September 17th and it's still "awaiting reviewer selection." This is absurd, right?
January 2, 2026 at 5:17 PM
An academic question: what's your threshold for peer-review delays that would cause you to withdraw the paper from the journal? I submitted a paper on September 17th and it's still "awaiting reviewer selection." This is absurd, right?
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
November 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
The unraveling of USAID was deliberate. Paul Martin sounded an alarm about nearly half a billion dollars in food aid, and he lost his post for it. That choice weakened the country’s own safeguards and its standing overseas. A government committed to democratic practice protects its overseers.
Democracy Works: The dismantling of USAID and the death of government oversight
Former NASA and USAID Inspector General Paul Martin joins us to recount the chaotic end to his decades-long career in public service and discuss the role that oversight plays in American democracy.
radio.wpsu.org
November 19, 2025 at 7:22 PM
The unraveling of USAID was deliberate. Paul Martin sounded an alarm about nearly half a billion dollars in food aid, and he lost his post for it. That choice weakened the country’s own safeguards and its standing overseas. A government committed to democratic practice protects its overseers.
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
By this time next week, the estimated deaths due to the illegal destruction of USAID and the shuttering of its aid efforts will breach 400,000.
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
Tracking Anticipated Deaths from USAID Funding Cuts
Brooke Nichols has launched online tracking tools that capture estimated increases in mortality and disease spread for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases as a result of the near-total...
www.bu.edu
November 5, 2025 at 10:28 PM
By this time next week, the estimated deaths due to the illegal destruction of USAID and the shuttering of its aid efforts will breach 400,000.
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
Excellent turnout amidst crummy weather here in St Louis!
October 18, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Excellent turnout amidst crummy weather here in St Louis!
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
It's going up to $40 billion.
USAID's budget last year was $28 billion.
USAID's budget last year was $28 billion.
October 16, 2025 at 2:35 AM
It's going up to $40 billion.
USAID's budget last year was $28 billion.
USAID's budget last year was $28 billion.
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
#OpenAccess from @apsrjournal.bsky.social -
Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa - https://cup.org/46qHNnT
- @mattkribar.bsky.social
#FirstView
Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa - https://cup.org/46qHNnT
- @mattkribar.bsky.social
#FirstView
September 26, 2025 at 7:20 PM
#OpenAccess from @apsrjournal.bsky.social -
Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa - https://cup.org/46qHNnT
- @mattkribar.bsky.social
#FirstView
Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa - https://cup.org/46qHNnT
- @mattkribar.bsky.social
#FirstView
I’m thrilled that my job market paper, “Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in sub-Saharan Africa,” is hot off the press and open-access at @apsrjournal.bsky.social. A quick thread featuring more than you ever wanted to know about land tenure.
September 26, 2025 at 7:23 PM
I’m thrilled that my job market paper, “Land, Power, and Property Rights: The Political Economy of Land Titling in sub-Saharan Africa,” is hot off the press and open-access at @apsrjournal.bsky.social. A quick thread featuring more than you ever wanted to know about land tenure.
Reposted by Matthew K. Ribar
🚨 New paper alert 🚨 Using LLMs as data annotators, you can produce any scientific result you want. We call this **LLM Hacking**.
Paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.08825
Paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.08825
September 12, 2025 at 10:33 AM
🚨 New paper alert 🚨 Using LLMs as data annotators, you can produce any scientific result you want. We call this **LLM Hacking**.
Paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.08825
Paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.08825