non-European areas by the fact that capitalism did not emerge as the dominant economic institution elsewhere. As Ugo Pipitone argues, prosperous economic institutions that sustain growth and innovation did not prevail in areas like China, the Arab world, or Mesoamerica because of the excessive control of these proto-States on private matters. Another angle that can be considered when assessing colonial impacts is examining the institutions that formed across Africa after the withdrawal of European colonizers. In many cases, colonial rule led to the development of weak and flawed institutions in postcolonial Africa. Levitsky and Murillo further examine the importance of institutions with their research on the factors that contribute to institutional strength. They define rule enforcement and institutional stability (durability) as the main factors contributing to institutional strength. In Africa, formal institutions had low stability and weak enforcement, leading to the emergence of dysfunctional institutions. A major source of the low institutional stability in African countries was the colonial partitioning of African borders, leading to political violence and ethnic conflict. Additionally, weak enforcement in Africa often stems from the emergence of “window-dressing” institutions where democratic policies are implemented to make the country seem democratic.However, these policies are rarely enforced. Douglass North provides the argument that institutional change is incremental and is a result of “path-dependency” which “makes history relevant”. These arguments follow William Brian Arthur’s theories on path-dependency where he states that market lock-in to a subpar technology is determined by “small-event history”. Thus, the colonial history in Africa becomes relevant as the decisions of European colonizers have impacted contemporary African economic and political structures.As a result, African institutions were impacted as well. Collectively, these theories from Levitsky and Murillo, North, and Arthur work to explain how colonialism led to the development and persistence of suboptimal African institutions. Reorganization of borders Defining borders Throughout the era of European colonization, those in power routinely partitioned land masses and created borders that are still in place today. It has been estimated that Britain and France traced almost 40% of the entire length of today's international boundaries. Sometimes boundaries were naturally occurring, like rivers or mountains, but other times these borders were artificially created and agreed upon by colonial powers. The Berlin Conference of 1884 systemized European colonization in Africa and is frequently acknowledged as the genesis of the Scramble for Africa. The Conference implemented the Principle of Effective Occupation in Africa which