6 - Lasting Legacies Political Attitudes and Social Capital

Summary

This chapter tests formally the legacies of military colonialism on attitudes and norms. Historical qualitative accounts suggest that centuries of restrictions on personal freedom, political rights, and the economic opportunities, alienated people from state institutions. Given the size of family clans, there were few opportunities for inter-clan interactions, which would have fostered horizontal solidarity in the form of reciprocity, cooperation, and equality. The longer existence of family clans in the former military colony made it very hard for the state to win the loyalty of the public, which in turn, endogenously strengthened family networks and distanced them from the central state. Modern-day surveys indicate that people living in the former colony are more attached to their family, trust outsiders less, are less politically engaged, and are more risk-averse.