Nationalism and the puzzle of reversing state size

Cederman, Lars-Erik, Girardin, Luc and Muller-Crepon, Carl (2023) Nationalism and the puzzle of reversing state size. World Politics, 75 (4). 692 - 734. ISSN 0043-8871

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Abstract

Having increased for centuries, territorial state size began to decline toward the end of the nineteenth century and has continued to do so. The authors argue that processes triggered by ethnic nationalism are the main drivers of this development. Their empirical approach relies on time-varying spatial data on state borders and ethnic geography since the nineteenth century. Focusing on deviations from the nation-state ideal, the authors postulate that state internal ethnic fragmentation leads to reduction in state size and that the cross-border presence of dominant ethnic groups makes state expansion more likely. Conducted at the systemic and state levels, the analysis exploits information at the interstate dyadic level to capture specific nationalist processes of border change, such as ethnic secession, unification, and irredentism. The authors find that although nationalism exerts both integrating and disintegrating effects on states' territories, it is the latter impact that has dominated.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/208
Additional Information:	© 2023 Trustees of Princeton University
Divisions:	Government
Subjects:	J Political Science > JC Political theory J Political Science > JZ International relations
Date Deposited:	27 Nov 2023 15:24
Last Modified:	05 Feb 2024 12:57
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120874

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