World Economic History Congress 2025

Socio-Economic Factors in Explaining Collective Violence prior to 1939

With Dora Costa (UCLA) and Alan de Bromhead (UCD)

Session 66263 at the World Economic History Congress Link 

Failed rebellions, intervals of peace, and subsequent uprisings are a recurring pattern in popular movements from both the left and right in recent centuries—perhaps a defining feature of revolutionary phenomena more broadly. In this double-session of Historical Political Economy (HPE), we aim to bring together research exploring the historical and political conditions underlying the sudden and substantial growth of social movements and political revolutions.

We aim to understand the periodic and sudden surges in the size, strength, and activity of revolutionary movements, with particular emphasis on the role of economic, social, and ethnic inequalities in fostering discontent and triggering revolutionary moments. This includes examining why such moments arise at all—why individual or collective acts of rebellion emerge, and whether they bring about regime change or reform.

More specifically:
(1) What socio-economic, political, and ideological factors contribute to the emergence of political violence and rebellion?
(2) What motivates key figures in revolutions—including the ruling elite, the general population, and political leaders—and what strategies do they pursue?
(3) How do transportation, communication, and mass media create a shared communicative space for the spread and interpretation of revolutionary acts across regions?
(4) To what extent does the success of revolutions depend on state weakness or elite divisions?

This double-session brings together innovative HPE approaches and historical analysis to shed light on the economic, ideological, and political dynamics that drive radicalisation. We especially encourage contributions based on archival research, advanced microdata, or rigorous causal identification strategies. 

Session 1 -> 66263: 

1. Victor Gay (Toulouse School of Economics)
   "The Road to Rebellion: Rural Uprisings and State-Building in the Run-Up to the French Revolution” 
   - with Michael Albertus (University of Chicago)

2. Jordi Domenech Feliu (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)
   "Revenge, Territorial Control, and Information. Explaining summary executions of prisoners during Spain's Civil War"
   - with Paloma Aguilar (Universidad Nacional a Distancia-UNED) & Francisco Herreros (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-CSIC)

3. Gerda Asmus-Bluhm (University of Hohenheim)
   "Independence Movements and Ethnic Politics: Colonial Repression and Ethnic Voting in Kenya"
   - with Richard Bluhm (University of Stuttgart) & Tobias Korn (Leibniz University Hannover)