Accounting for Legal Pluralism: The Impact of Pre-colonial Institutions on Crime
| Main author: | Larcom, Shaun |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Online access: |
Click here to view record |
| id |
eprints-18507 |
|---|---|
| recordtype |
eprints |
| institution |
SOAS, University of London |
| collection |
SOAS Research Online |
| language |
English |
| language_search |
English |
| description |
This article investigates the impact of non-state legal institutions on crime
by exploiting differences in pre-colonial legal institutions. In relation to criminal
law, it is suggested that colonisation can be best characterised as the imposition of
almost identical criminal law on a diverse set of pre-existing legal institutions; in
this sense, this analysis inverts the legal origins and institutions literature. Given
that remnants of pre-colonial institutions persist, it is suggested that the type of precolonial legal institution should have a direct effect on state crime control and the
crime rate. This is so, as societies that were relatively stateless prior to colonisation
are more likely to have high magnitude non-state sanctions that can act as substitutes for state punishments, but the presence of such non-state legal institutions
also reduces the productivity of state enforcement, contributing to an overall
increase in crime. This is tested using a measure for pre-colonial institutions on a
dataset of 86 post-colonial states. Private enforcement of high magnitude punishments, despite the deterrent effect, results in a net increase in crime. |
| format |
Journal Article |
| author |
Larcom, Shaun |
| author_facet |
Larcom, Shaun |
| authorStr |
Larcom, Shaun |
| author_letter |
Larcom, Shaun |
| title |
Accounting for Legal Pluralism: The Impact of Pre-colonial Institutions on Crime |
| publisher |
De Gruyter |
| publishDate |
2013 |
| url |
https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18507/
|