Colonial States and the Type of Postcolonial Civil War: A Comparative-Historical Analysis of the British, French, and Spanish Empires

Matthew Lange, McGill University

This paper recognizes that nationalist civil wars over communal autonomy and self-rule are concentrated in former British colonies, that center-seeking ethnic civil wars over the control of the state are concentrated in former French colonies, and that class-based civil wars are concentrated in former Spanish colonies. Through a comparative-historical analysis, it explore whether different forms of colonial rule help to explain these patterns. In particular, it recognizes that British rule was unusually pluralist and potentially nationalized communities, that French rule was especially integrative and made the central state the overwhelming basis of power, and that Spanish rule was settler-based and channeled conflict along class lines.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 189. Colonial Legacies in Comparative Perspective