Bringing war back in

Organised by

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• EGPP: European Governance and Politics Programme

Bringing War Back In (CUP, 2024) presents a new theory linking war and state formation, incorporating the contingency of warfare and the long-term effects of war outcomes. The book demonstrates that international wars in 19th-century Latin America triggered state-building, that war outcomes influenced the legitimacy and continuity of these efforts, and that the state capacity of Latin American countries today continues to reflect these historical processes.

Combining comparative historical analysis with advanced social science methods, the book offers a comprehensive examination of state formation in 19th-century Latin America. It revitalises bellicist approaches to state-building and provides a novel framework to explain variations in state capacity across Latin America and beyond. The study will appeal to scholars across disciplines, offering new insights into the relationship between war and state development.