Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 6, 2023

 

The Dynamics of State Origin in Comparative Perspective

(Abstract)

 

Nikolay H.Kradin, Dmitri D. Beliaev and Dmitri M. Bondarenko

 

The origin of the state is now understood as a complex process in which various factors such as ecology, agriculture, population growth, internal conflicts, diffusion, war and conquest, long-distance trade, or (and) ideology may have an impact. The random combination of various factors produces many different forms of complex societies. At one extreme are powerful empires with hierarchies, at the other are heterarchies and city-states, and in between are a great variety of political entities with different economic systems, political systems, and ideologies. The Mayan political entities in Central America show no evidence of hierarchical structure, aristocratic control, and centralization; and the Benin mega-communities in tropical Africa are built on the kinship principle of supra-communal political integration. The characteristics of states and civilizations may vary from case to case, giving reason to consider the origin of the state as a multilinear and complex process.