In The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution (2011), Francis Fukuyama attempts a monumental synthesis of history, biology, and sociology to explain why some societies have developed stable, modern political institutions while others remain trapped in tribalism or authoritarianism.
Institutional development is not permanent. Institutions are "inherently conservative," and if they cannot adapt to changing environmental or social conditions, they begin to decay into "re-patrimonialization," where elites capture state power for their own kin. Critical Reception The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman T...
A centralized authority with a legitimate monopoly on violence, capable of enforcing laws and collecting taxes. China is cited as the first society to develop a truly modern, impersonal state. In The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman