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Cities, Conflict, and Corridors

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  • Kitamura, Shuhei
  • Lagerlöf, Nils-Petter

Abstract

In this paper, we link European state fragmentation to geography, conflict, and the locations of capitals. First we document that military battles tend to occur close to the shortest-distance corridors between the capitals of the belligerent powers, *except* where that corridor is intercepted by certain types of geography, specifically seas, mountains, and marshes. Geography thus seems to have influenced the effective military distance between the belligerents' capitals. Then we explore similar corridors between a multitude of European cities, documenting two patterns: (1) capitals tend to be closer to each other when the geography between them is more separating, as measured by similar types of geography found to affect battle locations; (2) controlling for distance, the likelihood that any two cities are located in the same state decreases with the same types of geography between them. We present a model consistent with these patterns.

Suggested Citation

  • Kitamura, Shuhei & Lagerlöf, Nils-Petter, 2021. "Cities, Conflict, and Corridors," OSF Preprints cfrzs_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:cfrzs_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/cfrzs_v1
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