Peace from the past

Tore Wig
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Tore Wig: Department of Political Science, University of Oslo & Peace Research Institute Oslo, PRIO

Journal of Peace Research, 2016, vol. 53, issue 4, 509-524

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: Africa; civil war; ethnic conflict; ethnic power relations; institutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:joupea:v:53:y:2016:i:4:p:509-524

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