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Research Theme

Tax, Conflict, and Fragility

In fragile and conflict-affected settings, taxation is not only a source of revenue but also a critical foundation for building state legitimacy, strengthening public authority, and fostering more equitable governance. Our research explores how taxation functions in fragile settings, examining the challenges, risks, and opportunities it presents for peacebuilding, state-building, and citizen engagement. We aim to inform more coherent and context-sensitive policy approaches that support sustainable development and effective governance in fragile states.

Our work focuses both on how formal tax systems operate in fragile settings, as well as on the informal fiscal systems that often exist in these contexts. This includes, but is not limited to, work on:

• Building tax systems in fragile contexts
• The relationship between tax and state-building
• Armed group taxation
• Informal taxation
• Roadblock taxation

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Led By

Tax, Conflict, and Fragility Library

Partner Publication

Afghanistan: the collapse of the roadblock state

September 2026
David Mansfield

Report

Taxing Smarter: Advancing Reform Through Research and Partnership

July 2026

African Tax Administration Paper

Tax Competition and Fragmentation in Somalia: Implications for Revenue Mobilisation

June 2026
Najibullah Nor Isak

Journal Article

‘Escaping Isn’t for Everyone’: Kurdish Smugglers’ Navigational Tactics at Checkpoints in Iran

May 2026
Peyman Zinati

Journal Article

Opium Pathways: Mountains, Mules and Resource Extraction in Shan State, Myanmar

May 2026
John Buchanan

Journal Article

Isbaaro: Checkpoints and World Making beyond the State in Somalia

May 2026
Peer Schouten, Abdirahman Edle Ali, Jethro Norman

Journal Article

The Politics of Passage: Studying Checkpoints and Claim Making in Conflict-affected Settings

May 2026
Peer Schouten, Vanessa van den Boogaard, Max Gallien, Shalaka Thakur, Florian Weigand

Journal Article

State–Crime Cooperation and Extra-legal Governance in Colombia and Venezuela

April 2026
Jorge Mantilla

Journal Article

Roadblocks, Relationality and Resilient Resistance in Pre-coup Myanmar

April 2026
Gerard McCarthy, Kyle Nyana

Journal Article

Citizens’ aid preferences amid state collapse: Experimental evidence from Haiti

April 2026
Ana Isabel López García, Sarah Berens

Journal Article

Beyond the Rebel ‘Territorial Trap’: Governing Armed Sovereign Formations in Eastern Myanmar

March 2026
Tony Neil, Saw Day Chit

Journal Article

Checkpoint Taxation and Neo-patrimonial Political Order in Afghanistan

March 2026
Sarajuddin Isar

Webinar

28 October 2026 – 14:00

•

Timezone: UTC+2

As of 2024, 50% of the world’s extreme poor lived in fragility, conflict and violence affected countries, and this figure is only projected to increase in the coming years. Fragile and conflict-affected contexts present some of the most complex challenges

Virtual

30 June 2026 – 14:00

•

Timezone: Europe/London

This webinar launches the Development and Change special issue, The Politics of Passage: Checkpoints and Authority amidst Conflict, drawing on the Roadblocks and Revenues research series.

Current

The Logic of Armed Group Taxation

Start date: 15/10/2020
Najibullah Nor Isak
View bio
Research Affiliate
Samuel Jibao
View bio
Research Affiliate
Tanya Bandula-Irwin
View bio
Research Affiliate
Wilson Prichard
View bio
Associate Research Fellow, ICTD and Chair, LoGRI

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