The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World Book 96)

**"One of the most important books on political regimes written in a generation."****―Steven Levitsky, __New York Times__–bestselling author of __How Democracies Die__** **A new understanding of how and why early democracy took hold, how modern democracy evolved, and what this teaches us about the future** Historical accounts of democracy’s rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. __The Decline and Rise of Democracy__ draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer―democratic practices were present in many places, at many other times, from the Americas before European conquest, to ancient Mesopotamia, to precolonial Africa. Delving into the prevalence of early democracy throughout the world, David Stasavage makes the case that understanding how and where these democracies flourished―and when and why they declined―can provide crucial information not just about the history of governance, but also about the ways modern democracies work and where they could manifest in the future. Drawing from examples spanning several millennia, Stasavage first considers why states developed either democratic or autocratic styles of governance and argues that early democracy tended to develop in small places with a weak state and, counterintuitively, simple technologies. When central state institutions (such as a tax bureaucracy) were absent―as in medieval Europe―rulers needed consent from their populace to govern. When central institutions were strong―as in China or the Middle East―consent was less necessary and autocracy more likely. He then explores the transition from early to modern democracy, which first took shape in England and then the United States, illustrating that modern democracy arose as an effort to combine popular control with a strong state over a large territory. Democracy has been an experiment that has unfolded over time and across the world―and its transformation is ongoing. Amidst rising democratic anxieties, __The Decline and Rise of Democracy__ widens the historical lens on the growth of political institutions and offers surprising lessons for all who care about governance. Copyright Contents List of Figures Preface Part I Early Democracy 1 Origins of Democratic Rule Early Democracy and Modern Democracy Origins of Early Democracy Is Early Democracy an Appropriate Term? The Autocratic Alternative Why Europe Was Different The State Arrived First in China Islamic Rulers Inherited a State The Arrival of Modern Democracy Alternative Visions of Democracy Political Ideas Inequality Economic Development Democracy’s Future New Democracies Persistence of Autocracy The Future of American Democracy 2 Early Democracy Was Widespread The Athenian Precedent Early Democracies outside the Greek World The Mesopotamian Kingdom of Mari Republics in Ancient India The Huron of the Northeastern Woodlands The Mesoamerican Republic of Tlaxcala Republicanism in Central Africa Examples of Early Autocracy The Third Dynasty of Ur The Aztec Triple Alliance The Inkas Mississippian Chiefdoms The Azande of Central Africa A Broader View of Early Democracy and Autocracy Political Participation Inequality Conclusion 3 Weak States Inherited Democracy What We Mean by a Weak State Agricultural Suitability and State Formation Agricultural Variability and Early Democracy Exit Options and Early Democracy Circumscription versus Exit Population Density and Council Governance Military Democracy: When Rulers Needed Their People The Bureaucratic Alternative Origins of Bureaucracy Conclusion 4 When Technology Undermined Democracy Understanding and Mapping the Soil The “Fish Scale” Maps of China Aztec Soil Glyphs Europeans Were Late to Understand the Soil Geometry and the Ability to Survey Agricultural Techniques Europeans Lagged in Agricultural Techniques Why Europe Lagged with Intensive Agriculture The Importance of Writing How Writing Started The Effect of Writing on Early Democracy Alphabets versus More Complex Systems Where Europeans Were Ahead: Firearms Technology Conclusion Part II The Divergence 5 The Development of Representation in Europe The Ancient Liberty of the Forest Tacitus on the Germans The Marklo Assembly The Roman Inheritance—Absence of a State Extensive Agriculture Favored Early Democracy The Carolingian Attempt at Bureaucratic Rule The Anglo-Saxon Exception Quod Omnes Tangit: A Theory of Consent The Communal Movement: Representation from Below Rediscovering Aristotle Did Not Produce the Communal Movement The Impact of the Commercial Revolution The Absence of a Central State Bureaucracy A Theory of Political Representation The Importance of Mandates Philip the Fair’s Attempt at Autocracy Philip the Fair’s Assemblies Philip the Fair Had No State The Prussian Alternative Conclusion 6 China as the Bureaucratic Alternative The Shang Establishment of Autocracy The Zhou Dynasty and the Mandate of Heaven Why China Took the Autocratic Route Early China Was Not a “Hydraulic” Society High-Yield Agriculture Made a Difference Creation of a Bureaucracy A Consensual Route Not Taken Did Early Chinese Rulers Ever Rely on Assemblies? Theories of Merit and Abdication The Significance of the Qin and Han Unification The Imperial Examination System China Also Had a Commercial Revolution Mongol Conquerors Abandoned Their Assembly Tradition The Ming Restoration The Qing Conclusion 7 How Democracy Disappeared in the Islamic World Early Democracy before Islam Shura as a Principle of Consultation The Umayyad Shift to Dynastic Rule Inheriting a State The Circle of Justice The Byzantine Inheritance Al-Andalus The Disappearance of Islamic Democracy The Question of Persistence 8 Democracy and Economic Development over the Long Run Autocrats Did Well Early but Not Later China and the Caliphate Were Not the Soviet Union Possibilities and Perils of Autocracy in China Power and Prosperity in the Golden Age of Islam Weak Autocracy and Growth in Europe Early Democracy and Growth in Europe Conclusion: The Ambiguous Effects of Democracy Part III Modern Democracy 9 Why England Was Diferent The Roman Background The Hundred and the Shire Witenagemot The Normans Inherited a State Magna Carta Was Not a Big Deal (Initially) King John’s “Heavy Exactions” Were Not So Heavy Where England Really Did Pioneer: The Absence of Mandates Despotism and Good Government under the Tudors The Two Faces of Parliamentary Supremacy The First Face of Parliamentary Supremacy: High State Capacity The Second Face of Parliamentary Supremacy: An Autocratic Executive England versus the Dutch Republic England’s Failure to Complete the Transition to Modern Democracy Conclusion 10 Democracy—and Slavery—in America Early Colonial Assemblies Massachusetts Virginia Maryland A Broad (White, Manhood) Suffrage Origins of American Slavery Developments Elsewhere in the Americas Latin America in Comparison The Case of New France The Arrival of Modern Democracy in the United States Representatives Were No Longer Bound by Mandates Elections Became Less Frequent The Center Gained the Power to Tax and Wage War Early Critics of Modern Democracy Connecting Citizens with a Distant State Conclusion: The Invention of Modern Democracy 11 The Spread of Modern Democracy Charting the Spread of Democracy Democracy Comes to Europe An Expanding Blaze of Ideas? Did Europe Democratize Because It Grew Rich? A Legacy of Weak States A Legacy of Assemblies and Voting Expanding the Suffrage: One Man, One Gun, One Vote Voting Rights for Women Democracy Posed Less Danger to Elites than Feared French Peasants: The Original Deplorables Why Didn’t China Democratize? No Legacy of Assembly Governance The Legacy of the Imperial State A Commercial Revolution Did Not Bring Consensual Government The Chinese Communist Party Has Repeatedly Referred to Democracy Russia’s Failure to Democratize Early Rus sian Assemblies Building the Bureaucratic Alternative The World’s Largest Democracy How Democracy Spread in Africa The Suns of Independence A New Wave of Democratization A Legacy of State Weakness The Surprising Spread of Modern Democracy 12 The Ongoing Democratic Experiment The Problem of a Distant State Maybe James Madison Was Wrong about Large Republics Distrust and Distant Government Dealing with Distrust A Return to Early Democracy? Fear of a Strong State The Risk of State Strength in the United States The Importance of Sequencing China as the Bureaucratic Alternative The Reasons for Optimism and Pessimism Acknowledgments Notes Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Bibliography Index "One of the most important books on political regimes written in a generation." —Steven Levitsky, New York Times –bestselling author of How Democracies Die A new understanding of how and why early democracy took hold, how modern democracy evolved, and what this history teaches us about the future Historical accounts of democracy's rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. The Decline and Rise of Democracy draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer—democratic practices were present in many places, at many other times, from the Americas before European conquest, to ancient Mesopotamia, to precolonial Africa. Delving into the prevalence of early democracy throughout the world, David Stasavage makes the case that understanding how and where these democracies flourished—and when and why they declined—can provide crucial information not just about the history of governance, but also about the ways modern democracies work and where they could manifest in the future. Drawing from examples spanning several millennia, Stasavage first considers why states developed either democratic or autocratic styles of governance and argues that early democracy tended to develop in small places with a weak state and, counterintuitively, simple technologies. When central state institutions (such as a tax bureaucracy) were absent—as in medieval Europe—rulers needed consent from their populace to govern. When central institutions were strong—as in China or the Middle East—consent was less necessary and autocracy more likely. He then explores the transition from early to modern democracy, which first took shape in England and then the United States, illustrating that modern democracy arose as an effort to combine popular control with a strong state over a large territory. Democracy has been an experiment that has unfolded over time and across the world—and its transformation is ongoing. Amidst rising democratic anxieties, The Decline and Rise of Democracy widens the historical lens on the growth of political institutions and offers surprising lessons for all who care about governance. "Historical accounts of democracy's rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. The Decline and Rise of Democracy draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer-democratic practices were present in many places, at many other times, from the Americas before European conquest, to ancient Mesopotamia, to precolonial Africa. Delving into the prevalence of early democracy throughout the world, David Stasavage makes the case that understanding how and where these democracies flourished-and when and why they declined-can provide crucial information not just about the history of governance, but also about the ways modern democracies work and where they could manifest in the future. Drawing from examples spanning several millennia, Stasavage first considers why states developed either democratic or autocratic styles of governance and argues that early democracy tended to develop in small places with a weak state and, counterintuitively, simple technologies. When central state institutions (such as a tax bureaucracy) were absent-as in medieval Europe-rulers needed consent from their populace to govern. When central institutions were strong-as in China or the Middle East-consent was less necessary and autocracy more likely. He then explores the transition from early to modern democracy, which first took shape in England and then the United States, illustrating that modern democracy arose as an effort to combine popular control with a strong state over a large territory. Democracy has been an experiment that has unfolded over time and across the world-and its transformation is ongoing. Amidst rising democratic anxieties, The Decline and Rise of Democracy widens the historical lens on the growth of political institutions and offers surprising lessons for all who care about governance"-- Provided by publisher Historical accounts of democracy's rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. The Decline and Rise of Democracy draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer-democratic practices were present in many places, at many other times, from the Americas before European conquest, to ancient Mesopotamia, to precolonial Africa. Delving into the prevalence of early democracy throughout the world, David Stasavage makes the case that understanding how and where these democracies flourished-and when and why they declined-can provide crucial information not just about the history of governance, but also about the ways modern democracies work and where they could manifest in the future. Drawing from examples spanning several millennia, Stasavage first considers why states developed either democratic or autocratic styles of governance and argues that early democracy tended to develop in small places with a weak state and, counterintuitively, simple technologies. When central state institutions (such as a tax bureaucracy) were absent-as in medieval Europe-rulers needed consent from their populace to govern. When central institutions were strong-as in China or the Middle East-consent was less necessary and autocracy more likely. He then explores the transition from early to modern democracy, which first took shape in England and then the United States, illustrating that modern democracy arose as an effort to combine popular control with a strong state over a large territory. Democracy has been an experiment that has unfolded over time and across the world-and its transformation is ongoing.0Amidst rising democratic anxieties, The Decline and Rise of Democracy widens the historical lens on the growth of political institutions and offers surprising lessons for all who care about governance Historical accounts of democracy's rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. This book draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer—democratic practices were present in many places, at many other times, from the Americas before European conquest, to ancient Mesopotamia, to precolonial Africa. Delving into the prevalence of early democracy throughout the world, the book makes the case that understanding how and where these democracies flourished—and when and why they declined—can provide crucial information not just about the history of governance, but also about the ways modern democracies work and where they could manifest in the future. Drawing from examples spanning several millennia, the book first considers why states developed either democratic or autocratic styles of governance and argues that early democracy tended to develop in small places with a weak state and, counterintuitively, simple technologies. When central state institutions (such as a tax bureaucracy) were absent—as in medieval Europe—rulers needed consent from their populace to govern. When central institutions were strong—as in China or the Middle East—consent was less necessary and autocracy more likely. The book then explores the transition from early to modern democracy, which first took shape in England and then the United States, illustrating that modern democracy arose as an effort to combine popular control with a strong state over a large territory. Democracy has been an experiment that has unfolded over time and across the world—and its transformation is ongoing. Amidst rising democratic anxieties, the book widens the historical lens on the growth of political institutions and offers surprising lessons for all who care about governance. Many historical accounts of democracy's rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. Democracy has been an experiment that has unfolded over time and across the world-and its transformation is ongoing. This book draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer-democratic practices were present in many places, at many other times, from the Americas before European conquest, to ancient Mesopotamia, to precolonial Africa