The Issue Correlates of War (ICOW) Project Supplementary Data Set: Colonial History Data Set

The ICOW colonial history data set attempts to identify colonial or other dependency relationships for each state over the past two centuries. This includes states that have ruled each state as a colony, dependency, League of Nations mandate, UN trust territory, or other type of possession, as well as states that have seceded from existing states and states that have merged into existing states. This should be most useful for analyses of a variety of possible propositions on the general impact of colonial rule on subsequent relations between the former colonizer and the former dependency, the impact of different countries' colonial policies on post-independence events (involving the former dependency and either internal problems or external relations with the former colonizer or with other states), and similar topics. It may also be useful in identifying cases for certain types of analysis (or perhaps "relevant dyads"), if former colonial powers are thought to have an interest in their former dependencies and their surroundings.