Origins Of Political Order [Paperback]

I enjoyed reading this book because it does a good job reviewing the politics of ancient societies that traditionally don't get a lot of ink (Islamic, India, and especially China). They are part of the author's thesis that there are traceable origins to political order and the structure of governments. Briefly, Fukuyama is interested in how governments form and change over time, and why. This is a laudable goal, especially if the sequel to this book explores that theme to analyze where we are now and where we are likely to go in the future.

So why only four stars? Well, there's a few problems with the book. First, in places, the review of history is frankly boring. Fuyukama makes both broad generalizations (in this 300-year period there was calm) as well as rather pointless specifics (in the years 179, 184, and 185 A.D. there was war). Either make a detailed case of give me the summarized version. Switching back and forth seems odd at best, cherry-picking at worst. Second, despite proclaiming trying to find a theory of political origins, when it comes to the origins of government he claims, "in the end, there are too many interacting factors to be able to develop one strong, predictive theory of how and when states formed". Um, isn't that sort of the point of this book? Limited evidence (e.g., about early Indian governments) doesn't stop the author in other places. This smacks of cowardice and/or laziness. Finally, on a related note, the author suggests that a lot of historical writing is just "one [darn] thing after another" without any attempt at broad generalizations. Well, the author has at his disposal an excellent tool that he points out- human evolutionary biology/psychology.

Time and again, the author points out how kin nepotism and reciprocal altruism play crucial roles in resisting and altering the courses and forces of government as powerful individuals seek to help their own. Yet, other than a brief mention at the beginning and end of the book (3 pages each), Fuyukama doesn't take advantage of the growing body of evolutionary psychology literature to inform his theory about how and why people across the worlds, in different cultures, work with or against governments to further their own evolutionary interests. That's ironic because Fuyukama is quite good at applying a Darwinian-type model to the evolution of different, competing governments. But ultimately, governments are made by and for people, and if any single theme emerges from this overview of political history, that's the theme- people acting out their evolved biases to promote themselves, their kin, and reciprocal allies at the expense of others. The chapter "The State of Nature" covers this in only the most basic, cursory overview with virtually no discussion of modern studies of kin selection and reciprocal altruism. Following chapters barely even mention these ideas.

So why four stars and not lower? Well, Fuyukama does make some interesting arguments about the power of different religions in shaping local governments, as well as spelling out some of the conditions for various forms of government to evolve. His big-picture, cross-cultural approach is refreshing and informative. Most of his arguments are generally clear and persuasive. It's a hefty book, but one that I generally found easy to read, which is a credit to his good writing.

Still, I can't help but come away with the feeling that this is a missed opportunity. It lacks a truly integrative theory that explains how political organizations form (in detail and with explicit evidence), largely because the author sticks to closely too history without adding psychology and other related disciplines. Perhaps that's what the author is building towards in his next book, but I don't think so. If this book is meant to be his theoretical foundation, I'd say it's interesting, but needs more work. Kind of like modern democracy!

Anyone familiar with development, or at least with development lingo, has heard that "institutions matter." Indeed they do, yet, how, why, what for, and to what extent, are, for the most part, still unanswered questions. It is refreshing, then, that Fukuyama sets out to explore where it all comes from. He breaks down the notion of political order into three components (state, rule of law, and accountability) and tracks them through history (up to the eve of the French Revolution) inductively elaborating the basis of an explanatory Theory of their development.
Eventually, the hope is, we will know how to go about "institution building."
This is a very well written and pedagogical book. As for the theoretical principles that seem to emerge from it, brilliantly argued, as they are, their greatest asset lies in setting the stage for Volume 2. We eagerly await this second part, as this is a work that deserves to be gauged in its entirety.

The Origins of Political Order deserves to be a new classic at the intersection of history, political science and human studies. A remarkably concise, coherent and internally consistent history of human political development, it has breadth, as well as depth and substance.