Frontier rule and conflict
Colonial powers often governed the frontier regions of their colonies differently from non-frontier regions, employing a system of “frontier rule” that restricted access to formal institutions of conflict management and disproportionately empowered local elites. We examine whether frontier rule prov...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working paper |
| Language: | English |
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Centre for the Study of African Economies
2025
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| _version_ | 1824459203684597760 |
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| author | Malik, M Mirza, RA Rehman, FU |
| author_facet | Malik, M Mirza, RA Rehman, FU |
| author_sort | Malik, M |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Colonial powers often governed the frontier regions of their colonies differently from non-frontier regions, employing a system of “frontier rule” that restricted access to formal institutions of conflict management and disproportionately empowered local elites. We examine whether frontier rule provides a more fragile basis for maintaining social order in the face of shocks. Using the arbitrarily defined historical border between frontier and non-frontier regions in northwestern Pakistan and 10km-by-10km grid-level conflict data in a spatial regression discontinuity design, we find that areas historically under frontier rule experienced significantly higher violence against the state after 9/11. We argue that 9/11 represented a shock to grievances against the state which, in the absence of formal avenues of conflict management, escalated into sovereignty-contesting violence. A key strategy employed by insurgents in this escalation was the systematic assassination of tribal elites, which undermined the cornerstone of frontier rule’s social order. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:38:03Z |
| format | Working paper |
| id | oxford-uuid:84956dfc-8cc4-45ce-9d1c-f60ba2a315a8 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:38:03Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Centre for the Study of African Economies |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:84956dfc-8cc4-45ce-9d1c-f60ba2a315a82025-02-06T09:21:02ZFrontier rule and conflictWorking paperhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_8042uuid:84956dfc-8cc4-45ce-9d1c-f60ba2a315a8EnglishSymplectic ElementsCentre for the Study of African Economies2025Malik, MMirza, RARehman, FUColonial powers often governed the frontier regions of their colonies differently from non-frontier regions, employing a system of “frontier rule” that restricted access to formal institutions of conflict management and disproportionately empowered local elites. We examine whether frontier rule provides a more fragile basis for maintaining social order in the face of shocks. Using the arbitrarily defined historical border between frontier and non-frontier regions in northwestern Pakistan and 10km-by-10km grid-level conflict data in a spatial regression discontinuity design, we find that areas historically under frontier rule experienced significantly higher violence against the state after 9/11. We argue that 9/11 represented a shock to grievances against the state which, in the absence of formal avenues of conflict management, escalated into sovereignty-contesting violence. A key strategy employed by insurgents in this escalation was the systematic assassination of tribal elites, which undermined the cornerstone of frontier rule’s social order. |
| spellingShingle | Malik, M Mirza, RA Rehman, FU Frontier rule and conflict |
| title | Frontier rule and conflict |
| title_full | Frontier rule and conflict |
| title_fullStr | Frontier rule and conflict |
| title_full_unstemmed | Frontier rule and conflict |
| title_short | Frontier rule and conflict |
| title_sort | frontier rule and conflict |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT malikm frontierruleandconflict AT mirzara frontierruleandconflict AT rehmanfu frontierruleandconflict |