Davide Ticchi is Professor of Economics at IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca. He obtained a Ph.D. in Economics from the University Pompeu Fabra in 2004. Davide has published papers on the political economy of constitutional choice, on the role of the military on politics, on the effects of wars on political institutions, and on the role of culture and institutions in economic growth and development. His current research interests focus on the relationship between religion and scientific and technological progress, on the coevolution of political culture and institutions, and on how to transfer real political power in ethnically fragmented weakly institutionalized societies in order to end violent conflicts.