The problem of controlling the use of force and those who are best at wielding it is foundational to human collective life. For most of history, a social order that was relatively “closed” has seemed the most natural way to manage this problem. But over the past century or two, a transition from closed- to open-access orders has led to the emergence of societies with widespread political participation, the use of elections to select governments, constitutional arrangements to limit and define the powers of government, and unbiased application of the rule of law.
About the Authors
Douglass C. North
Douglass C. North is professor of economics, Washington University–St. Louis, a Nobel laureate in that discipline, and senior fellow, Hoover Institution.
Barry R. Weingast is Ward C. Kreps Family Professor of Political Science, Stanford University, and senior fellow, Hoover Institution. This essay draws on the authors’ book Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History (Cambridge University Press, 2009).
Why has the European Union, which has been so successful in transforming its candidate countries, failed in its efforts to promote democracy and development in Bosnia and Kosovo?
Embracing a new model of capitalist authoritarianism, a number of nondemocratic regimes have made startling gains in state capacity, posing a new challenge to the appeal and advance of liberal…
What makes elected leaders step down at the appointed hour, and what do they have to look forward to once their terms end? A look at the political afterlives of…
