> The examples of China, Japan and the USA suggest the exact opposite.
I think the comeback of Japan after WW2 speaks against this. Also the US are probably a good example of copying the existing British institutions (with the exception of the crown, although you might argue that the US president is king-like).
More broadly speaking, it's probably not so much about "submitting to a rich nation", which is a pretty crazy simplification that doesn't apply to many former colonies. But I think you can find a strong correlation between former parts of the British Empire and now Commonwealth or Ex-Commonwealth and the successful implementation of institutions that give them wealth and freedom. Read "Why Nations Fail" [1] to get some examples of that, one that I remember was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana.
I thought about Japan before WWII, the causality is backwards for the claim in the post.
Why Nations Fail is actually somewhere on my to read stack, hopefully I find some time to actually read it.
It's a good book, although I'm not so sure if they fact-checked the historical details, at least for some chapters. Some of the stuff concerning Germany looked a bit questionable, but it doesn't harm the overall quality of the argument.
I think the comeback of Japan after WW2 speaks against this. Also the US are probably a good example of copying the existing British institutions (with the exception of the crown, although you might argue that the US president is king-like).
More broadly speaking, it's probably not so much about "submitting to a rich nation", which is a pretty crazy simplification that doesn't apply to many former colonies. But I think you can find a strong correlation between former parts of the British Empire and now Commonwealth or Ex-Commonwealth and the successful implementation of institutions that give them wealth and freedom. Read "Why Nations Fail" [1] to get some examples of that, one that I remember was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Why-Nations-Fail-Origins-Prosperity/dp...