{"title":"State Building, States, and State Transformation in Africa: Introduction","authors":"Njoku Carol Ijeoma, M. Dmitri","doi":"10.30884/SEH/2018.01.01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30884/SEH/2018.01.01","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42677,"journal":{"name":"Social Evolution & History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2018-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47450844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The principle ‘One Zambia, One nation’: fifty years later","authors":"L. Prokopenko","doi":"10.30884/SEH/2018.01.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30884/SEH/2018.01.04","url":null,"abstract":"In the first years of independence, United National Independence Party (UNIP) and President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda, realizing that Zambia as a young multi-ethnic state can develop only assuming normal relations between its 73 ethnic groups, proclaimed the slogan ‘One Zambia is One People’ as the basic principle of nation-building. The formation of a young nation should also be facilitated by the introduction of the principle of regional and ethnic balancing – quotas for various ethnic groups for representation in government bodies. Under the conditions of political pluralism since 1991, power in Zambia was transferred peacefully, including after the victory of the opposition in the elections in 2011. Zambia is often called a successful example of achieving ethno-political consolidation in a multi-ethnic African state, which can be regarded as a certain success in the formation of a national state. The new president Edgar Lungu re-elected in September 2016 declares that the policy of his government and of the PF party will be firmly based on the inviolability of the principle ‘One Zambia – One Nation’.","PeriodicalId":42677,"journal":{"name":"Social Evolution & History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2018-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49540845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Beyond States and Empires: Chiefdoms and Informal Politics","authors":"P. Chabal, G. Feinman, P. Skalník","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvqc6hq0.14","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvqc6hq0.14","url":null,"abstract":"At the very beginning of the twenty-first century, the sovereignty and near supremacy of the state are being challenged. Barely half a century ago, some scholars envisaged an inevitable or direct historical path to more consolidated and larger polities: a world government, possibly a planetary state, at the very least a concert of nation-states (Carneiro 1978; Hart 1948). Now this appears to have been a flight of fancy. Even in the face of a revolution in telecommunications and a powerful process of economic globalisation, it has become evident that there has been no linear progression in political development or centralisation. Political philosophers may find the prospect of an unstoppable march towards homogeneous polities desirable or immoral. Social scientists simply register the forces which go against it and, indeed, which may well pose dangers to the nation-state as it evolved during the last two centuries. Globalisation, the quest for democracy, as well as new processes of collective identification, have enabled people to become","PeriodicalId":42677,"journal":{"name":"Social Evolution & History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2017-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41419822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The emergence of pristine states","authors":"J. Henri","doi":"10.4324/9781315063362-32","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315063362-32","url":null,"abstract":"In this article the emergence of the Pristine State will be considered. First, I will present an overview of the applied method. Then seven cases of – probable – Pristine States are described. This makes a comparative research possible. As the case studies have been described with the help of the Complex Interaction Model, the comparative part is also based upon this approach. From the comparisons it appeared that all cases developed in a situation of relative wealth. They were not a consequence of hunger or population pressure. Nor could the often mentioned role of war be established as crucial in the formation of these states. War, as far as it occurred, was rather a consequence than a condition of state formation. 1. PRELIMINARY REMARKS In 1967, Morton H. Fried introduced the concept of the pristine state in The Evolution of Political Society, stating that ‘all contemporary states, even those that seem to be lineally descended from the states of high antiquity, like China, are really secondary states; the pristine states perished long ago’ (Fried 1967: 231). The pristine states were those that ‘emerged from stratified societies and experienced the slow, autochthonous growth of specialized formal instruments of social control out of their own needs for these institutions’ (Ibid.). The institutions grew and a leader – a priest, a warrior, a manager, or a charismatic person – came to the fore, and started to use his power. Gradually the organization of such a polity developed into an incipient early state (term in Claessen 1978, 2014). Fried suggests that the ‘stratified-society-going-pristine-state’ was (probably) surrounded by other societies, developing in tandem, so that Social Evolution & History / March 2016 4 competition, trade, war, and communication played a role in its further development; as an early form of ‘peer polity interaction’ (Renfrew and Cherry 1986). Fried also suggests that such pristine states could overrun less well-organized neighbours and incorporate them within its own system as an inferior social stratum (Fried 1967: 232). Fried suggests Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Yellow River Valley as possible sources of pristine states. He does not exclude the possibility that once, in an unknown past, pristine states developed also in Africa, but which completely disappeared since. Interestingly, he does not include an American case in his list. The concept of the pristine state – and implied with that the origin of the state – received considerable attention. To mention a few of the scholars involved: Robert L. Carneiro stated that the origin of the state was caused by circumscription and war. Julian H. Steward carefully analyzed the theocratic character of pristine states (Steward 1955: 182–185). In his analysis of the origins of civilizations Elman R. Service (1975) introduced Mesoamerica, Peru, and Polynesia as pristine states. Herbert S. Lewis and Sidney M. Greenfield (1983) emphasized decision making as a c","PeriodicalId":42677,"journal":{"name":"Social Evolution & History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70625784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Modeling Malthusian Dynamics in Pre-Industrial Societies","authors":"S. Nefedov","doi":"10.21237/c7clio4221335","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21237/c7clio4221335","url":null,"abstract":"The discussion about the Malthusian character of pre-industrial economies that has arisen in the recent years extensively uses simple mathematical models. This article analyzes some of these models to determine their conformity with Malthusian postulates. The author suggests two models that are more adequate for the description of the Malthusian patterns. Until recently, most economic historians were inclined to think that the medieval economies in Eurasia had a Malthusian nature (Allen 2008: 951). However, following the publication of Lee and Anderson's work (Lee and Anderson 2002), many came to dispute this opinion. A discussion has arisen about how the available data confirm the Malthusian relationship between demographic dynamics and consumption (i.e., real wages). This discussion has largely involved simple mathematical models of the Malthusian economy. In 1980, Lee published the first and most popular of these models. This model describes the relationship between the real wage, wt (consumption), and labor resources, Nt (population), using the following equation:","PeriodicalId":42677,"journal":{"name":"Social Evolution & History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2013-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.21237/c7clio4221335","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67989418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"On Chiefs and Chiefdoms","authors":"H. Claessen","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvqc6hq0.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvqc6hq0.7","url":null,"abstract":"The type of political leader, commonly referred to as ‘chief’, emerged some ten thousand years ago, since the time that larger congregations of people had become possible when the changes in climate made agriculture and settled life possible (Cook 2005: 24–28). And, though the term ‘chief’ was used over and again in anthropological, archaeological, and even historical literature, the contents of the concept was never fully agreed upon. Most anthropologists would include any, or most, of the following aspects in his or her definition: an ascribed/inherited top position in the local (regional) social structure, a central position in a redistributive economy, sacred capacities (the most important of which were alleged positive effects on human, animal and plant fertility), the erection of great works in the public sphere, and an inclination to warfare. I shall discuss each of these features with their ramifications below. GENERAL REMARKS Chiefs are considered as sociopolitical leaders of a number of people – in the thousands, as Earle suggests (Earle 1991: 1; 1997: 14), which is not always the case. To distinguish the chief from other sociopolitical leaders some additional characteristics have to be added to this rather broad definition. In the first place a chief is an ascribed leader; he occupies a hereditary position (Service 1971: 146–147). Such positions are, in Kurtz terminology, political offices. 1 Chiefship is the prerogative of a certain family. When the old chief dies his son or sometimes a brother or a nephew will succeed him. In this way he is different from a big man, or a president. These are leaders with an achieved position, they are elected, and they have done something to get into that place. Neither can chiefs do without achievement; also they have to demonstrate the ability","PeriodicalId":42677,"journal":{"name":"Social Evolution & History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68854031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Heterarchy and hierarchy among the ancient Mongolian nomads","authors":"N. Kradin","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvqc6hq0.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvqc6hq0.9","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper the social hierarchy of several ancient Mongolian polities from the 3 rd – 2 nd centuries BC to the 3 rd century AD is described in terms of heterarchy, hierarchy, and chiefdom. These polities are characterized by the similar ecological environment, common cultural space, and common frontier with the Chinese civilization in the south and nomadic Xiongnu empire in the west. However, these ancient Mongols' polities differed in social complexity level. In this paper it is discussed how and why this happened.","PeriodicalId":42677,"journal":{"name":"Social Evolution & History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68854106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Role of an Individual in History: A Reconsideration","authors":"L. Grinin","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1752886","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1752886","url":null,"abstract":"This article is devoted to the significant at all times and sounding anew in every epoch problem of the role of an individual (also a Hero, Great Man) in history, including such an aspect as the role of an individual in the process of state formation and progress. It is argued that in the age of globalization, when the humankind has found itself at the new developmental turning point, in the epoch when the influence of various individuals could affect dramatically the further development of the whole world, there is an urgent necessity to return to the analysis of this issue. In the first part of this article the history of views on this problem from the antiquity to contemporary counterfactual history is considered. In the second part the author aims at presenting the complex of factors affecting the role of individuals as a conceptual system. He suggests that depending on various conditions and circumstances and with the account of specific features of historical place and time and personal characteristics, the historical role of an individual may fluctu-ate from the absolutely invisible up to the greatest one. A conclusion is made that the weaker and less stable is a society, the more destroyed are the old structures, the greater may be the personality's impact. In other words, the role of an individual is inversely correlated with society's stability and strength. The paper presents the model which includes four society's state phases: 1) stable society of the monarchic type; 2) social pre-revolutionary crisis; 3) revolution; 4) creation of a new order. It is shown that a personality's greatest influence is observed at the third and fourth stages while at the first stage the influence is usually considerably weaker.","PeriodicalId":42677,"journal":{"name":"Social Evolution & History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2010-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2139/SSRN.1752886","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67734049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Evolutionary Explanation Model on the Transformation of Culture by Cultural Genes","authors":"Hangoo Lee","doi":"10.5840/WCP22200838451","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5840/WCP22200838451","url":null,"abstract":"This article seeks to explain how cultural transformation takes place through the evolution of cultural genes. This explanation posits that just as the evolution of an organism takes place at the genetic level, so also does the transformation of culture. As such, this paper must answer the four following questions: 1) Are there cultural genes that correspond to biological genes? 2) How can we prove that the fundamental characteristic of such cultural genes is to replicate themselves? 3) Will the recent intensified fusion of civilization lead to more variations of cultural genes? 4) What relationship is there between biological and cultural genes? A NEW GENE: THE CULTURAL GENE The greatest distinction of culture is that it is propagated from individual to individual not through biological genes, but rather through social learning. Cultures may be defined as systems of information which are objects of learning. ‘Culture is information capable of affecting individuals' phenotypes which they acquire from other conspecifics by teaching or imitation’ (Shennan 2002: 37). As a means of explaining the evolution of culture, Richard Dawkins coined the term ‘meme’, an abbreviation of the Greek word for an imitation, ‘mimēma’, to denote a unit of transmitted cultural content that operates as a replication of cultural information (Dawkins 1976: 192). Susan Blackmore has also greatly expanded the theory","PeriodicalId":42677,"journal":{"name":"Social Evolution & History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2008-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70971438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chiefdom Confederacies and State Origins","authors":"D. B. Gibson","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvqc6hq0.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvqc6hq0.10","url":null,"abstract":"A number of historical political systems of regional scale in varied locales across the globe have been described as confederacies, and some, such as those of Early Medieval Ireland, as chiefdom confederacies. In light of recent mulling as to whether some complex political systems of prehistoric and early historic North America could be considered to have been chiefdom confederacies (Pauketat 2007), this article surveys the political systems of the historic Iroquois league, Early Medieval Ireland, Late Iron Age Britain, Archaic Boiotia, Bronze Age and Iron Age Korea, and 19 th – 20 th century Western Iran with the objective of determining the essential characteristics of chiefdom confederacies. Subsequent discussion is given over to the question as to whether the states that arose out of chiefdom confederacies possessed organizational characteristics attributable to their origins in them. Chiefdom confederacies have not had a high profile in the literature of social or political anthropology, and only pop up from time to time in historical literature. This relative neglect is odd considering that, as this survey will demonstrate, they occurred among populations in nearly every culture area of the world, and once carpeted Europe. Quite possibly, not much attention has been lavished upon chiefdom confederacies because most came into existence and declined prior to the appearance of written documents in most regions where they existed. A second likely reason for their obscurity is due to an unspoken consensus among scholars that chiefdom confederacies never evolved into, or had an imprint upon the character of early states. As this study will hopefully demonstrate nothing could be farther from the truth. Indeed, it will emerge that","PeriodicalId":42677,"journal":{"name":"Social Evolution & History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68853939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}