The Causes and Implications of Indigenous Military Recruitment Under Colonialism

Abstract

During the age of colonialism, colonial powers frequently utilized native populations for military service. For example, over 11 million colonial soldiers served in World War II alone. Yet, the long-run consequences of military service for subsequent colonial development remain poorly understood. My dissertation explores under what conditions the colonial powers recruited native population in colonies and how it consequently affected the politics of colonies and, later, new states.

This dissertation consists of three papers addressing these questions. The first paper explores the causes of native recruitment. I argue that colonial powers believed ethnic groups in regions heavily affected by the slave trade were ‘martial races,’ and because of this stereotype, certain ethnic groups affected by the Atlantic slave trade were more likely to be recruited into the colonial military. Using the ethnicity-level slave trade data and the recruitment records from the Tirailleurs Senegalais in colonial French West Africa, an analysis of the ethnicity-level recruitment quota provides evidence consistent with the theory.

The second paper turns to the effects of native recruitment. I argue that nationalist movements were more likely to emerge in places where the colonial authorities recruited the native population in World War II. The theory highlights the role of war veterans in creating the demand for independence and in facilitating it through organized collective action. Drawing on original World War II native recruitment data, an analysis of nationalist movements in sub-national units from 1945 to 1984 provides supportive evidence for the theory.

Lastly, the third paper explores whether and how native recruitment influenced civil conflicts in new states. I argue that WWII mobilization reduces the likelihood of civil wars after independence because it gives rise to a legitimate and strong nation-state succeeding colonial rule. Drawing on original WWII indigenous military mobilization data available for 66 former colonies and dependencies, I find that the size of WWII recruitment is negatively associated with the likelihood of civil war onset after independence.