This article assesses the relative merits of the “reversal of fortune” thesis, according to which the most politically and economically advanced polities of the precolonial era were subject to institutional reversal by European colonial powers, and the “persistence of fortune” view, according to which early advantages in state formation persisted throughout and beyond the colonial era. Discussing the respective arguments, the article offers a synthesis: the effect of early state formation on development trajectories was subject to a threshold condition. Non-European (...) states at the highest levels of precolonial political centralization were able to resist European encroachment and engage in defensive modernization, whereas states closest to, yet just below, this threshold were the most attractive targets for colonial exploitation. Since the onset of decolonization, however, such polities have been among the first to regain independence and world patterns of state capacity are increasingly reverting to those of the precolonial era. (shrink)

If the values of younger citizens and voters are the trend of the future, in what direction do they point? Scholars have long noted a decline in political engagement and knowledge among youth in developed democracies, with the fear that this may undermine the stability of liberal institutions. However, youth electoral behaviour appears inconsistent: in much of continental Western Europe, younger voters support populist parties of both left and right, but in the United States and the United Kingdom, only left-wing (...) populist movements benefit from youth mobilization. We explain this divergence by arguing for a distinction between democratic apathy and democratic antipathy. Democratic apathy is characterized by scepticism regarding the value of democratic institutions, low turnout and lack of interest in politics, whereas democratic antipathy involves the active embrace of illiberal movements hostile to pluralistic institutions. In societies where youth do not face economic and social discrimination, democratic apathy is the more common trend, whereas in parts of continental Europe where youth face systematic social exclusion, apathy has become active antipathy. (shrink)

Les guerres de Religion en France mettent curieusement en cause la mémoire. En effet, chaque édit de pacification est l’occasion pour la couronne française d’imposer un « oubli » des guerres récentes entre catholiques et protestants. Cette « politique de l’oubliance », censée permettre une stabilité de chaque nouvelle paix, a cependant rencontré des obstacles : quelles sont les réticences qu’elle a suscitées? Comment mesurer l’efficacité de ces mesures? Comment les commissaires du roi chargés de vérifier l’application des édits s’y (...) sont-ils pris pour imposer cet oubli? (shrink)

Les guerres de Religion en France (1562-1598) mettent curieusement en cause la mémoire. En effet, chaque édit de pacification est l’occasion pour la couronne française d’imposer un « oubli » des guerres récentes entre catholiques et protestants. Cette « politique de l’oubliance », censée permettre une stabilité de chaque nouvelle paix, a cependant rencontré des obstacles : quelles sont les réticences qu’elle a suscitées? Comment mesurer l’efficacité de ces mesures? Comment les commissaires du roi chargés de vérifier l’application des édits (...) s’y sont-ils pris pour imposer cet oubli? (shrink)