Peace from the past
Pre-colonial political institutions and civil wars in Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3918022 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tore Wig (0000-0003-2596-2399, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo & Peace Research Institute Oslo, PRIO, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 509-524 |
| Publication date | 2016-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Peace Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343316640595 |
| OpenAlex | W2468541499 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 38 |
| References cited | 63 |
Research on the relationship between political institutions and civil war has paid insufficient attention to the role of traditional institutions in developing countries. This study presents large-N evidence showing that traditional ethnic institutions with origins prior to Western colonization are associated with the prevalence of civil wars in Africa after independence. Matching ethnographic data on the pre-colonial political organization of African indigenous groups to contemporary data on ethnic groups in conflict, I investigate the relationship between the traditional organization of ethnic groups and ethnic civil wars in Africa after decolonization. Specifically, I argue that excluded groups with centralized traditional institutions can rely on these institutions to more credibly bargain with the state, and that this reduces their risk of conflict. Accordingly, I find that excluded groups with centralized pre-colonial institutions are less likely to be involved in civil wars
Colonialism · Decolonization · Development economics · Economics · Ethnic conflict · Ethnic group · Ethnography · Independence (probability theory) · Indigenous · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · State (computer science) · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Law · Political Conflict and Governance
Local Solutions to Structural Issues
Legados de la guerra de Independencia y la Revolución sobre la violencia criminal en México
Traditional Authorities and Strategies in Demands for Self-Determination
Conflict Over the Commons
Illiberal Peace’
The implications of traditional authority contest for local-level stability – Evidence from South Africa
The historical roots of cooperative behavior—Evidence from eastern Congo
States and their international relations since 1816
Chiefs and Pre-Election Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa
Polygynous Neighbors, Excess Men, and Intergroup Conflict in Rural Africa
A Precolonial Paradox? Rethinking Political Centralization and Its Legacies
Precolonial Elites and Colonial Redistribution of Political Power
Militarization, factionalism and political transitions
Climate and society in long‐term perspective
Regional Fracture and Its Intractability in World Politics
The Future Is History
Precolonial and Colonial Origins of Inclusive Peace
Traditional institutions in Africa
The Dualism of Contemporary Traditional Governance and the State
State-Making Lessons For International Relations Research
Traditional Authorities, Norm Collisions, and Communal Conflict
The Social Terrain of Rebel Held Territory
Local Religious Institutions and the Impact of Interethnic Inequality on Conflict
History and Ethnic Conflict
Continuity or Change? (In)direct Rule in British and French Colonial Africa
Ethnic Violence in Africa
Early Statehood and Support for Autocratic Rule in Africa
The Pre-Colonial Roots of Colonial Coercion
When Strength Becomes Weakness
Beyond ethnicity
The long memory of the land
Linking Ethnic Data from Africa (Leda)
Why does ethnic partition foster violence? Unpacking the deep historical roots of civil conflicts
The origins of policing institutions
Sooner or later
Which groups fight? Customary institutions and communal conflicts in Africa
Including chiefs, maintaining peace? Examining the effects of state-traditional governance interaction on civil peace in sub-Saharan Africa
Endogenous Colonial Borders
Africa and the disciplines
Traditional cures for modern conflicts
Africa
Property and Political Order in Africa
Political Topographies of the African State
The Art of Not Being Governed
National Institutions and Subnational Development in Africa
The modern impact of precolonial centralization in Africa
The Long-Term Effects of Africa's Slave Trades
Essay
The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development
Reversal of Fortune
Testing for Weak Instruments in Linear IV Regression
Africa
States and Power in Africa: Comparative Lessons in Authority and Control
Mostly Harmless Econometrics
Inequality, Grievances, and Civil War
Comparative political studies
Politically Relevant Ethnic Groups across Space and Time
Chiefs
Does Land Abundance Explain African Institutions
The Role of Traditionalism in the Political Modernization of Ghana and Uganda
Ethnonationalist Triads
Pre-Colonial Institutions, Post-Colonial States, and Economic Development in Tropical Africa
Back to the Future
Signaling Foreign Policy Interests
Rationalist explanations for war
Bargaining Failures and Civil War
Why Vote with the Chief? Political Connections and Public Goods Provision in Zambia
Measuring Ethnic Fractionalization in Africa
When Politicians Cede Control of Resources
Kony's Message
The roots of resilience
Local determinants of African civil wars, 1970-2001
Climate change, environmental degradation and armed conflict
Actor Fragmentation and Civil War Bargaining
Historical legacies
On the Origins of Gender Roles
Why Do Ethnic Groups Rebel? New Data and Analysis
Triangulating horizontal inequality
The Zande State
Emergent Democracy and 'Resurgent' Tradition
Ethnic Politics and Armed Conflict
Born-again Buganda or the limits of traditional resurgence in Africa
Modernisation and Political Disintegration
Prio-Grid
Democracy and armed conflict
Armed Conflict 1946-2001
The perils of policy by p-value
The Organization of a Zande Kingdom
Toward a Democratic Civil Peace? Democracy, Political Change, and Civil War, 1816-1992
The Autocratic Legacy of Early Statehood
Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War
Citizen and Subject
African Political Systems
The Azande
A Comparison of African Kingdoms
| Unique citing works | 38 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,8 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2026 (11) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 36 |