2024-03-29T06:36:33Z
https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/cgi/oai2
oai:epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de:36388
2020-11-04T20:18:21Z
Decentralized Despotism? Indirect Colonial
Rule Undermines Contemporary Democratic
Attitudes
Lechler, Marie
McNamee, Lachlan
Volkswirtschaft
Munich Discussion Papers in Economics
Entwicklungsökonomik
ddc:330
This paper identifies indirect and direct colonial rule as causal factors in shaping
support for democracy by exploiting a within-country natural experiment in
Namibia. Throughout the colonial era, northern Namibia was indirectly ruled through
a system of appointed indigenous traditional elites whereas colonial authorities directly
ruled southern Namibia. This variation originally stems from where the progressive
extension of direct German control was stopped after a rinderpest epidemic
in the 1890s, and thus constitutes plausibly exogenous within-country variation in
the form of colonial rule. Using this spatial discontinuity, we find that individuals in
indirectly ruled areas are less likely to support democracy and turnout at elections.
We explore potential mechanisms and find suggestive evidence that the greater influence
of traditional leaders in indirectly ruled areas has socialized individuals to
accept non-electoral bases of political authority.
2017-03-08
eng
doc-type:workingPaper
Paper
Lechler, Marie und McNamee, Lachlan (8. März 2017): Decentralized Despotism? Indirect Colonial Rule Undermines Contemporary Democratic Attitudes. Münchener Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Beiträge (VWL) 2017-7 [PDF, 8MB]
NonPeerReviewed
https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/36388/1/Decentralized.pdf
application/pdf
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-epub-36388-0
https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/36388/
10.5282/ubm/epub.36388