ERIC Number: EJ872453
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Dec
Pages: 34
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0037-7732
EISSN: N/A
Dividing and Ruling the World? A Statistical Test of the Effects of Colonialism on Postcolonial Civil Violence
Lange, Matthew; Dawson, Andrew
Social Forces, v88 n2 p785-818 Dec 2009
To test claims that postcolonial civil violence is a common legacy of colonialism, we create a dataset on the colonial heritage of 160 countries and explore whether a history of colonialism is related to indicators of inter-communal conflict, political rebellion and civil war in the years 1960-1999. The analysis provides evidence against sweeping claims that colonialism is a universal cause of civil violence but finds that some forms of colonialism increase the risk of some forms of civil violence. Specifically, the findings support claims that inter-communal violence is a common legacy of colonialism--especially of British colonialism and colonialism by minor colonial powers--but suggest that a history of colonialism has only a limited impact on political rebellion and civil war. (Contains 23 notes and 8 tables.)
Descriptors: War, Foreign Policy, Violence, Foreign Countries, Conflict, Risk, History, Correlation, Political Influences, Social Differences, Bias, Social Systems, Statistical Analysis, Authoritarianism, Ethnic Groups, Immigrants, Indigenous Populations
University of North Carolina Press. 116 South Boundary Street, P.O. Box 2288, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2288. Tel: 800-848-6224; Tel: 919-966-7449; Fax: 919-962-2704; e-mail: uncpress@unc.edu; Web site: http://uncpress.unc.edu/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A