The Road to Rebellion: State-Building and Rural Uprisings in the Run-Up to the French Revolution

Abstract

How does the process of building state strength affect social order? We examine how improvements in state communication networks and increased state presence impact rural unrest by combining original and detailed parish-level data from pre-revolutionary France on the expansion of the horse-post network with rural rebellion in this period. Using a staggered difference-in-difference framework, we find that the introduction of a new horse-post relay is associated with more local rebellion. We argue that the main mechanism is increased state presence and visibility. New horse-post relays are strongly associated with more rebellion against high-profile state agents—the military, police, and courts—and public buildings that symbolized and hosted state power. We find no evidence that relays fostered broader rebellion against the nobility or Church, or that the effects stem from informational or infrastructural changes occurring contemporaneously. Our findings have implications for the scholarly understanding of the co-evolution of states and violence.