The Institutional Legacy of African Independence Movements

Abstract

We investigate the long-term effect of the geography of anti-colonial insurgencies (c.1900-1960) on the nature of current democratic institutions and political behavior in Africa. We find that while rural insurgencies (e.g. Madagascar, Kenya, Cameroon, Somalia) tend to generate autocracies, urban insurgencies (e.g. Senegal, South Africa, Benin, Ghana) tend to lead to democratic institutions. This is because urban insurgencies are mass uprisings that create conditions for popular political participation and strong civil societies. In contrast, rural insurgencies are military organizations that tend to limit political rights and generate less inclusive governments. We provide evidence that the relationship between the nature of anti-colonial insurgencies and democratization causal, by using the proportion of a country covered by mountaneous terrain as an instrument for rural insurgency. The results indicate that democratization may result from the legacy of historical events, specifically the forms of political dissent under colonial rule.