Pre-colonial centralisation, traditional indirect rule, and state capacity in Africa
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Pre-colonial centralisation, traditional indirect rule, and state capacity in Africa. / Cappelen, Christoffer; Sorens, Jason.
In: Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, Vol. 56, No. 2, 2018, p. 195-215.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Pre-colonial centralisation, traditional indirect rule, and state capacity in Africa
AU - Cappelen, Christoffer
AU - Sorens, Jason
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - What explains contemporary variation in state capacity across African states? Recent research has focused on the possible role played by colonial and pre-colonial institutions. This paper investigates the way in which colonial and pre-colonial institutions interacted to affect the public legitimacy and coercive capacity of African states on independence. A coherent configuration of historical institutions, pre-colonial centralisation combined with colonial indirect rule through traditionally legitimate rulers, contrasts with the incoherent and comparatively illegitimate configurations of pre-colonial decentralisation with traditional rule and pre-colonial centralisation with colonial non-traditional or direct rule. The paper tests the theoretical expectations in a historical instrumental-variables framework.
AB - What explains contemporary variation in state capacity across African states? Recent research has focused on the possible role played by colonial and pre-colonial institutions. This paper investigates the way in which colonial and pre-colonial institutions interacted to affect the public legitimacy and coercive capacity of African states on independence. A coherent configuration of historical institutions, pre-colonial centralisation combined with colonial indirect rule through traditionally legitimate rulers, contrasts with the incoherent and comparatively illegitimate configurations of pre-colonial decentralisation with traditional rule and pre-colonial centralisation with colonial non-traditional or direct rule. The paper tests the theoretical expectations in a historical instrumental-variables framework.
KW - State-building
KW - state capacity
KW - colonialism
KW - economic history
KW - political development
U2 - 10.1080/14662043.2017.1404666
DO - 10.1080/14662043.2017.1404666
M3 - Journal article
VL - 56
SP - 195
EP - 215
JO - Commonwealth and Comparative Politics
JF - Commonwealth and Comparative Politics
SN - 1466-2043
IS - 2
ER -
ID: 210197791