From Dependency to Sovereignty: An Event History Analysis of Decolonization 1870-1987

Abstract

This paper examines the precipitants of decolonization among Western dependencies from 1870 to 1987 within an event history framework. It focuses on the implications of world economy and world polity perspectives. Results indicate the usefulness of both perspectives, while also pointing to an array of other factors. On the world economy side, the rate of decolonization rose during the period of American hegemony. On the world polity side, decolonization was more rapid where suffrage regimes were broad and after 1960 when imperialism was delegitimated in global political discourse. There is further evidence of diffusion processes within empires, where the number of prior decolonization events within the empire accelerated the decolonization rate of remaining dependencies. Separate analyses of decolonization before and after World War II point to some shifts in parameters over time that challenge assumptions that institutional effects are invariably located in the later stages of a historical process.