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The Failure of Democratic Nation Building. Ideology Meets Evolution.
Somit, Albert; Peterson, Steven A.
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Description for The Failure of Democratic Nation Building. Ideology Meets Evolution.
Hardback. Num Pages: 172 pages, biography. BIC Classification: JPHV; JPS. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College); (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 216 x 140 x 15. Weight in Grams: 375.
Throughout history authoritarian governments have outnumbered democratic ones to an overwhelming degree. Even today, true democracies are an exception. In this book, Somit and Peterson argue that the main reason for this pattern is that humans are social primates with an innate tendency for hierarchical and authoritarian social and political structures. Democracy requires very special 'enabling conditions' before it can be supported by a state, conditions that require decades to evolve. As a result, attempts to export democracy through nation-building to states without these enabling conditions are doomed to failure. The authors argue that money and energy devoted to nation-building ... Read more
Throughout history authoritarian governments have outnumbered democratic ones to an overwhelming degree. Even today, true democracies are an exception. In this book, Somit and Peterson argue that the main reason for this pattern is that humans are social primates with an innate tendency for hierarchical and authoritarian social and political structures. Democracy requires very special 'enabling conditions' before it can be supported by a state, conditions that require decades to evolve. As a result, attempts to export democracy through nation-building to states without these enabling conditions are doomed to failure. The authors argue that money and energy devoted to nation-building ... Read more
Product Details
Format
Hardback
Publication date
2005
Publisher
Palgrave USA United States
Number of pages
172
Condition
New
Number of Pages
159
Place of Publication
Gordonsville, United States
ISBN
9781403967817
SKU
V9781403967817
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
Ref
99-15
About Somit, Albert; Peterson, Steven A.
ALBERT SOMIT is Professor Emeritus at Southern Illinois University, USA. He has served as Executive Vice-President of SUNY-Buffalo and President of Southern Illinois University. He is a pioneer of biopolitics. STEVEN A. PETERSON is Professor of Politics, Penn State University at Harrisburg, USA and Director of its School of Public Affairs. He has authored or edited 15 books, mostly ... Read more
Reviews for The Failure of Democratic Nation Building. Ideology Meets Evolution.
'Al Somit and Steve Peterson have written a book that is provocative, unconventional, and all too persuasive. Even if U.S. policies were more thoughtful and consistent, the efforts to create democratic regimes in the Third World are likely to fail: given the trajectory of genetic and cultural evolution, most of us are more comfortable with social systems that are stratified ... Read more