Raul Sanchez de la Sierra

Raul Sanchez de la Sierra is an Assistant Professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Political Science department. His research focuses on political economy and conflict studies, particularly examining armed group behavior in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has conducted extensive field research in Eastern Congo, leading data collection efforts across hundreds of villages to understand the economic incentives that drive armed groups to either protect or attack civilians.

His research interests include Political Economy, Conflict Studies, State Formation, Armed Groups Behavior, and Violence Against Civilians. Dr. Sanchez de la Sierra has demonstrated that contrary to conventional wisdom, armed groups in mineral-rich areas often choose to protect civilians when those civilians produce taxable resources, functioning as 'stationary bandits' who develop proto-state institutions.

His key publications include 'Bandits or States? Evidence on Armed Groups' Motives to Attack or Protect Civilians from Eastern Congo' (2013) and 'Fishing, Commitment and Communication' (Political Analysis, 2013). His work employs rigorous causal inference methods, exploiting natural experiments like the 2000 coltan price shock to identify causal relationships rather than mere correlations.

• Senesh Fellowship
• Peace Research Grant

Dr. Sanchez de la Sierra has collaborated extensively with Professor Macartan Humphreys on field research in Congo, including an impact evaluation across 812 villages. His research methodology involves careful village-level sampling, retrospective data collection, and strategies to minimize recall bias. His work has significant implications for understanding state formation processes and designing policies to protect civilians in conflict zones.