2016/10/01 by Rollin F. Tusalem
Social Sciences · #Culture, Economy, and Development Studies #International Development and Aid #Political Conflict and Governance
paper · doi:10.1057/s41279-016-0006-4
openalex publication_date 2016/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
The presence of failed states in the international system has increased, especially after the end of the cold war. Recent research demonstrates that state fragility and failure are strongly influenced by regime type, political instability, and economic growth. But these studies do not highlight the possibility that state fragility/failure is a function of historical path dependency. To address its prevalence and persistence in the modern world, we must focus on the unique histories of nation-states and examine how the colonial past may have led to substandard institutions and problematic state-society relations. Using an extensive dataset of nation-states in the developing world in order to conduct panel regression analyses, I find that state failure is largely a function of variations in the type of colonial rule and the duration of colonial control. British or Spanish rule, as well as the relative absence of European intervention into the polity, is associated with a lower risk of state failure, while French or Portuguese rule is associated with a higher risk. The findings imply that we need to reconsider our understanding of state failure; its very existence and persistence in the modern world are influenced by the historical process of colonialism and its institutional legacies.