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).
Democracies must grapple not only with the proliferation of AI to authoritarian and illiberal regimes, but also with the temptation that AI poses for democratic governments themselves.
East Timor, which emerged from a tragic and bloody past to gain full independence in 2002, offers a factinating case of democratization in a small developing country with a shallow…
