Miguel A. Centeno is Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University. He has taught at Princeton for over twenty-five years and is well known for his work on Latin America, state capacities, war, and globalization. Agustin E. Ferraro is a Professor at the University of Salamanca. He has more than fifteen years of experience working for governments, NGO's and international organizations in diverse fields of public policy: state and civil service reforms, education, public security, and social policy.