Colonialism and Political Institutions
How did Western colonial rule influence political institutions during and after colonialism? Motivated by foundational theories of democratization and stability, I analyze the actions and legacies of various actors, in particular white settlers and British rule. I have collected extensive data on elections and other institutions under colonialism to understand the origins and evolution of political representation under colonial rule, varying decolonization experiences, and post-colonial legacies. In related ongoing research, I extend my analysis of colonial legacies beyond national-level electoral institutions to focus on bureaucratic development, drawing borders, and local Native Authority institutions.
Book
Colonial Origins of Democracy and Dictatorship
(with Alexander Lee) Cambridge University Press, 2024
INTRO CHAPTER • SLIDES • BLOG • CUP WEBSITE • AMAZON
2025 APSA Comparative Politics Luebbert Best Book Award Honorable Mention
REVIEWS: Foreign Affairs, Journal of Historical Political Economy, International Affairs
Podcast with New Books Network
Published articles
Councils and Indirect Rule in British Africa
(with Jutta Bolt, Leigh Gardner, Jennifer Kohler, and James Robinson)
American Political Science Review, in press
NBER • APPENDIX
Myths of Border Formation in Colonial Africa: The Role of Precolonial States and Water Bodies
(with Xiaoyan Qiu and Joan Ricart-Huguet) Handbook of African Borderlands (Routledge), 2026, Chapter 8
Endogenous Colonial Borders: Precolonial States and Geography in the Partition of Africa
(with Xiaoyan Qiu and Joan Ricart-Huguet) American Political Science Review, 2025, 119(1): 1–20
JOURNAL LINK • REPLICATION DATA • APP A - MAIN APPENDIX • APP B - DIGITIZING PRECOLONIAL STATES •
APP C - CASE STUDIES FOR BILATERAL BORDERS • APP D - ADDITIONAL REGRESSION TABLES
2025 APSA Comparative Politics – Luebbert Best Article Award
2026 APSA Politics and History – Mary Parker Follett Prize (best article)
2026 APSA International History and Politics – Outstanding Article Award
2025 APCG – Best Article Award Honorable Mention
Lead article
Most influential list • BLOG POST (Broadstreet) • BLOG POST (AEHN) • Mention at Al Jazeera
The Great Revenue Divergence
(with Alexander Lee) International Organization, 2023, 77(2): 363–404.
JOURNAL LINK • APPENDIX • REPLICATION DATA • NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Ethnic Violence in Africa: Destructive Legacies of Pre-Colonial States
International Organization, 2019, 73(3): 645–683.
JOURNAL LINK • APPENDIX • REPLICATION DATA • NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Democratic Contradictions in European Settler Colonies
World Politics, 2019, 71(3): 542–585.
JOURNAL LINK • MAIN APPENDIX • CODING APPENDIX • REPLICATION DATA
Redistributive Political Transitions: Minority Rule and Liberation Wars in Colonial Africa
Journal of Politics, 2019, 81(2): 505–523. JOURNAL LINK • APPENDIX • REPLICATION DATA
British Colonialism and Democracy: Divergent Inheritances and Diminishing Legacies
(with Alexander Lee) Journal of Comparative Economics, 2019, 47(3): 487–503.
JOURNAL LINK • APPENDIX • REPLICATION DATA
What Were the Consequences of Decolonization? (with Alexander Lee)
International Studies Quarterly, 2019, 63(2): 406–416. JOURNAL LINK • APPENDIX • REPLICATION DATA
In progress
After the Scramble: State Formation in Africa
(with Xiaoyan Qiu and Joan Ricart-Huguet)