The DOI matches its Crossref record; 80 of the 80 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Legacy of Western Overseas Colonialism on Democratic Survival
Abstract
Using an original dataset that covers the period from 1951 to 1995, we consider the enduring effects of Western overseas colonialism on the democratic survival of postcolonial democracies. We treat colonialism as a holistic phenomenon and differentiate the relative effects of its legacies with regard to the level of economic development, social fragmentation, and the relationship between the state and civil society. We find that Western overseas colonialism, a factor often overlooked in recent large-n studies, continues to have an effect on the survival of democratic regimes. We further find that the legacy of specific colonial powers has an important effect on survival as well. Unlike previous studies, we find that former Spanish colonies outperform British colonies when colonialism is conceptualized holistically. However, when we break colonial legacy into separate components (development, social fragmentation, and the relationship between the state and civil society), we find that the advantages former British colonies enjoy are attributable to the legacy of the state/civil society relationship. Moreover, we show that at least in the case of former British colonies, time spent under colonial rule is positively associated with democratic survival.
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“We also include controls for the negative impact of past colonial status (Bernhard et al. 2004)”
From Parties, Civil Society, and the Deterrence of Democratic Defection (2020) · cites this paper as Bernhard et al. 2004
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Owolabi, O. P. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673027.003.0004
Owolabi, O. P. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673027.003.0003
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Owolabi, O. P. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673027.002.0001
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Owolabi, O. P. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673027.005.0002
A Historical Overview of Forced Settlement and Colonial Occupation in the Global South
Owolabi, O. P. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673027.003.0002
Comparing British Forced Settlement and Colonial Occupation
Owolabi, O. P. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673027.003.0005
Owolabi, O. P. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673027.003.0001
Owolabi, O. P. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673027.002.0003
The Role of Independence Movements and Colonialism in Societal Development
Saute, G., & Puente, J. (2023) · Journal of Student Research · doi:10.47611/jsrhs.v12i3.4660
Supplementary Material for Latin American Analyses
Vogt, M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190065874.005.0005
Vogt, M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190065874.002.0003
Vogt, M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190065874.002.0006
Ethnic Parties in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America
Vogt, M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190065874.005.0003
Vogt, M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190065874.005.0006
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Vogt, M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190065874.005.0001
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Vogt, M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190065874.005.0004
Calculating Linguistic and Religious Segmentation
Vogt, M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190065874.005.0002
Bapat, N. A. (2020) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190061456.002.0007
Bapat, N. A. (2020) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190061456.002.0003
Bapat, N. A. (2020) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190061456.002.0004
Game Theoretical Solutions and Statistical Models
Bapat, N. A. (2020) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190061456.005.0001
Peters, B. G. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198297253.002.0006
Peters, B. G. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198297253.002.0004
Peters, B. G. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198297253.002.0003
Chiseni, M. C. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-65304-9_4
Human Rights Legacies of the African Slave Trade and Colonialism
Carlton‐Ford, S. (2024) · Globalisation, comparative education and policy research · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-55478-0_5
Fried, Y. (2024) · Defence Studies · doi:10.1080/14702436.2024.2420676
“The impact of colonial rule on political institutions and societal structures influences democratic trajectories considerably (Acemogul, Johnson, and Robinson 2001; Bernhard, Reenock, and Nordstrom 2004; Lee and Paine 2019).”
Civil War and Globalization: The Effect of Colonialism on Political Globalization
Feltz, L. O. (2012) · The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College (Gettysburg College)
Gendered Impacts of Colonial Education: The Role of Access and Norms Transmission in French MoroccoPreprint
Allegre, A., Borcan, O., & Brunnschweiler, C. N. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.6123014
Beyond the textbooks: myth or reality of education's role in asian democratization?
Han, S. (2026) · Asian Review of Political Economy · doi:10.1007/s44216-025-00070-8
“The regional categories are not intended to imply homogeneity within Asia or Europe; rather, they represent distinct developmental trajectories shaped by differences in state formation, colonial legacies, and institutional sequencing (Bernhard et al. 2004; Lee and Paine 2019).”
Pathways to Abolition: The Colonial Legacy of the Death Penalty in sub-Saharan Africa
Peel, D. (2026) · Critical Criminology · doi:10.1007/s10612-026-09897-w
“The British did prepare its colonies through elections and internal self-government ahead of independence (Bernhard et al. 2004), but ensured that they had a hand in elections during the period of self-government (Morrock 1973).”
Swauncy-Coleman, M. E. (2026) · International Criminology · doi:10.1007/s43576-026-00242-3
“Thus, there is a direct link between neo-colonial policies and support for the military coup, strongly supporting existing work arguing that a colonial legacy negatively impacts the durability of a democracy (Bernhard et al., 2004).”
Metadata
- Authors
- Bernhard, M., Reenock, C., & Nordstrom, T.
- Affiliations
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Florida State University (US)
- University of Mississippi (US)
- Venue
- International Studies Quarterly
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2004-03
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 225-250
- ISSN
- 0020-8833 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-2478
- OpenAlex
- W2008749442
- Cited by
- 237
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 10.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Studies Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
- Social Sciences › Development › Culture, Economy, and Development Studies
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
- Keywords
- colonial legacy, democratic survival, postcolonial democracy, Western colonialism, state-civil society relations, social fragmentation, economic development, British colonies, Spanish colonies, regime durability
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