Paper short abstract:

This paper employs qualitative methods to understand “everyday” taxation in rural north-eastern Sierra Leone. It considers the role of chiefs and non-state actors in taxation and the implications that these informal forms of taxation have for state institutions and state-society relations.

Paper long abstract:

This paper provides a view of "everyday" taxation as a means of understanding the complex relationships between society, non-state actors, local governments, and the state. After providing an overview of the dynamics of non-state taxation in northern and eastern Sierra Leone, the paper addresses two research questions: First, what explains sub-national variation in the nature of the relationship between non-state informal tax institutions and society? This focuses on explaining how and why non-state tax institutions collect taxes and engage with society in different ways, varying on a spectrum of coercion and consent. Second, what explains sub-national variation of the nature of the relationship between non-state informal tax institutions and formal state institutions? This focuses on explaining the differences in the nature of the interaction between formal and informal tax institutions, explaining why non-state institutions have a relationship with the state that is, in different contexts, complementary, competitive, substitutive, and co-existent. Examining the implications for the relationship between the state and society, the research relies on survey data and extensive qualitative and ethnographic methods, developing qualitative comparative explanatory models.