Historical legacies

The course offers an overview of several key themes in the historical legacy literature, drawn primarily (but not exclusively) from work in comparative politics. It focuses on the legacies of different types of historical phenomena, including empires, different regime types, and violence. It then discusses a number of mechanisms that may account for these persistent historical continuities, including the role of culture, communities, family and institutions. It also discusses a number of methodological challenges for both quantitative and qualitative approaches to these questions.