The Deep Roots of Modern Democracy : Geography and the Diffusion of Political Institutions

"This book explores the deep roots of modern democracy, focusing on geography and long-term patterns of global diffusion. Its geographic argument centers on access to the sea, afforded by natural harbors which enhance the mobility of people, goods, capital, and ideas. The extraordinary connectivity of harbor regions thereby affected economic development, the structure of the military, statebuilding, and openness to the world - and, through these pathways, the development of representative democracy. The authors' second argument focuses on the global diffusion of representative democracy. Beginning around 1500, Europeans started to populate distant places abroad. Where Europeans were numerous they established some form of representative democracy, often with restrictions limiting suffrage to those of European heritage. Where they were in the minority, Europeans were more reticent about popular rule and often actively resisted democratization. Where Europeans were entirely absent, the concept of representative democracy was unfamiliar and its practice undeveloped." Copyright_page Dedication Contents Detailed_Contents Figures Maps Tables Acknowledgments Part I Introduction 1 Deep Roots 2 Democracy Part II Maritime Geography 3 Harbors and Democracy 4 Harbors 5 Regional Comparisons 6 Global Analyses 7 Mechanisms Part III European Diffusion 8 Democracy As a European Club 9 European Ancestry 10 Colonial and Post-colonial Eras 11 Global Analyses Part IV Alternate Explanations 12 Modalities of Geography 13 Modalities of European Diffusion 14 Economics, Institutions, Culture Part V Conclusions 15 A Summary View 16 Connectedness Appendix A: Variables Glossary Bibliography Index This book explores the deep roots of modern democracy, focusing on geography and long-term patterns of global diffusion, through statistical analyses of new databases, small-N studies and a review of the historical literature. It will appeal to historically-oriented social scientists, political historians, and anyone interested in democracy.