Contemporary theories of politics tend to portray politics as a reflection of society, political phenomena as the aggregate consequences of individual behavior, action as the result of choices based on calculated self-interest, history as efficient in reaching unique and appropriate outcomes, and decision making and the allocation of resources as the central foci of political life. Some recent theoretical thought in political science, however, blends elements of these theoretical styles into an older concern with institutions. This new institutionalism emphasizes the relative autonomy of political institutions, possibilities for inefficiency in history, and the importance of symbolic action to an understanding of politics. Such ideas have a reasonable empirical basis, but they are not characterized by powerful theoretical forms. Some directions for theoretical research may, however, be identified in institutionalist conceptions of political order.

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The New Institutionalism: Organizational Factors in Political Life

Distinguishing four sources of power in human societies – ideological, economic, military and political – The Sources of Social Power traces their interrelations throughout human history In this first volume, Michael Mann examines interrelations between these elements from neolithic times, through ancient Near Eastern civilizations, the classical Mediterranean age and medieval Europe, up to just before the Industrial Revolution in England It offers explanations of the emergence of the state and social stratification; of city-states, militaristic empires and the persistent interaction between them; of the world salvation religions; and of the particular dynamism of medieval and early modern Europe It ends by generalizing about the nature of overall social development, the varying forms of social cohesion and the role of classes and class struggle in history First published in 1986, this new edition of Volume 1 includes a new preface by the author examining the impact and legacy of the work

The sources of social power

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Surveying the Political Landscape 1. Sublimated Spaces 2. Archaeologies of Political Authority 3. Geopolitics 4. Polities 5. Regimes 6. Institutions Conclusion: Toward a Cartography of Political Landscapes References Cited Index

The Political Landscape: Constellations of Authority in Early Complex Polities

The term chiefdom is used to characterize social complexity in stateless societies. Despite pointed criticism of evolutionary typologies, the chiefdom and related formulations provide a framework for comparative studies of evolution aimed at understanding the development of central decision-making hierarchies and social inequalities. Over the past 10 years, our understanding of chiefdoms has fundamentally changed as a result of substantial historical and archaeological studies. Research has shifted away from schemes to classify societies as chiefdoms or not, towards considerations of the causes of the observed variability. As the details of analysis have sharpened, the basic concerns with economy and adaptation have broadened to consider political and ideological matters. This review seeks to capture an emerging consensus on the nature of chiefly societies and the causes of their evolution.

Chiefdoms in archaeological and ethnohistorical perspective

In this ground-breaking work, Norman Yoffee shatters the prevailing myths underpinning our understanding of the evolution of early civilisations. He counters the emphasis in traditional scholarship on the rule of 'godly' and despotic male leaders and challenges the conventional view that early states were uniformly constituted bureaucratic and regional entities. Instead, by illuminating the role of slaves and soldiers, priests and priestesses, peasants and prostitutes, merchants and craftsmen, Yoffee depicts an evolutionary process centred on the concerns of everyday life. Drawing on evidence from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and Mesoamerica, the author explores the variety of trajectories followed by ancient states, from birth to collapse, and explores the social processes that shape any account of the human past. This book offers a bold new interpretation of social evolutionary theory, and as such it is essential reading for any student or scholar with an interest in the emergence of complex society.

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Myths of the Archaic State: Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States, and Civilizations

To explain the origin of primary states-those which arise in a context of interacting prestate societies-has remained an objective of anthropologists since the publica­ tion of Morgan's Ancient Society (35) 100 years ago. It is a fundamental problem which, though it cannot have an ultimate solution, serves as a measure against which to evaluate the effectiveness of new perspectives and new methods. The centennial of Morgan's publication has not inspired comprehensive new explanatory theories or research insights, but it has been marked by a synthesis of past work, by provoca­ tive restatements of extant theoretical approaches, and by the testing of proposed explanations derived from these approaches utilizing new methods. This review begins with a commentary on a recent synthesis, discusses definitional problems, and assesses recent research on several cases of state development. In conclusion, it is argued that recent research has already obviated some of the positions taken in the synthesis and has clarified the directions which future theory-building and research must take.

Henry T. Wright

Papers

Recent Research on the Origin of the State