Dynasties in Historical Political Economy
The Oxford Handbook of Historical Political Economy, Forthcoming
26 Pages Posted: 12 Oct 2022
Date Written: May 11, 2022
Abstract
The hereditary transfer of political power within families is a prominent feature of premodern societies, and persists in some form even in modern democracies. This chapter reviews the role of dynasties in the historical development of states, and how patterns in dynastic politics serve as a useful metric for understanding the evolution of power and state organization in historical political economy research. We identify and describe three broad declines in the role of dynasties in politics: (1) a decline of monarchy in favor of democracy and other forms of government; (2) a decline in the prevalence of elected members of dynasties in democracies; and (3) a decline in the gendered differences in reliance on dynastic ties for entry into politics. Despite these general declines, dynastic ties remain advantageous to politicians’ careers in many countries, especially when it comes to reaching the top echelons of power in the executive.
Keywords: dynasties, monarchy, hereditary succession, power, political elites
JEL Classification: D72, D74, H11, N40
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation