Research · State Capacity

Private interests compete with public goods

We study how social cohesion, executive leadership, political power, and public administration enable both cooperation and conflict.

The Thesis

Execution is the scarce input

Ambition and resources are common; the capacity to coordinate, regulate, procure, and deliver is not. State capacity increasingly separates intent from outcome.

The Power Curve studies how institutions build, or lose, the ability to execute, and how legitimacy and trust shape what is actually possible.

  • Where execution capacity is built
  • How legitimacy is won or lost
  • Procurement and coordination
  • Where institutions stall

Key Questions

What we study

  • Which institutions can actually execute, and which only announce?
  • How do legitimacy and public trust expand or constrain action?
  • Where do procurement, regulation, and coordination break down?
  • How is state capacity built, and how quickly is it lost?

Selected Research

Publications on state capacity

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Regime Change, Quietly

Kevin Warsh was installed to cut interest rates, but his first month at the Federal Reserve signaled something larger, and more disciplined.

Jun 24, 2026 · 9 min read

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AI for Enterprise

Anthropic and OpenAI announce joint ventures with leading investors

May 5, 2026 · 1 min read

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