ISTP Colloquium: War Did Make States - Testing Tilly’s Thesis
In our upcoming colloquium talk, Prof. Lars-Erik Cederman, from the Center for Comparative and International Studies, investigates the influence of war on European states' territorial expansion. The starting point of his research is Charles Tilly's classical claim that "war made states." Prof. Cederman elaborates on state expansion's logic after testing the "bellicist" thesis by aligning historical data on European state borders with conflict data.
Abstract
Charles Tilly’s classical claim that “war made states” in early modern Europe remains controversial. The “bellicist” thesis has attracted theoretical criticism both within and beyond its original domain of applicability. While several recent studies have analyzed the internal aspects of Tilly’s theory, there have been very few systematic attempts to assess its logic with regard to state expansion. In this paper, we test the bellicist theory directly by aligning historical data on European state borders with conflict data, focusing primarily on the period from 1490 through 1790. Proceeding at the systemic, state and dyadic levels, our analysis confirms that warfare did in fact contribute to the territorial expansion of European states before (and beyond) the French Revolution.
This contribution is joint work with Luc Girardin, Paola Toro-Galano, and Guy Schvitz.
- Find out more details about the Colloquium talk and the speaker.
- For further information about the Colloquium schedule of guest talks during the Autumn Semester 2020, please visit the Colloquia webpage.