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Political Order and Political Decay
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Political Order and Political Decay
Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalisation of Democracy is a 2014 book by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama. The book follows Fukuyama's 2011 book, The Origins of Political Order, written to shed light on political institutions and their development in different regions.
Twenty years after his pivotal 1989 essay “The End of History?”, Fukuyama remains committed to the liberal democratic state as an ideal form of government, compared to alternatives such as the Chinese, Russian or Islamist governments. However, he warns against internal forces leading to stagnation and political decay within liberal democracies, which threatens the future of this form of government.
Fukuyama stresses the importance of the three pillars of the modern state, as described in the first volume in the series, The Origins of Political Order:
In other words, in an ideal system, a powerful and efficient state is kept in check by the people, and by the law, which can bind the state itself. Importantly, Fukuyama distinguishes between an effective state and a large state. The former is simply about competence, and it can be present in states with little welfare (Singapore) or extensive welfare (Netherlands).
Different regions and countries developed these three institutions, if at all, at different times. China, for example, developed a strong state early on, but never fully developed the rule of law or political accountability. India developed institutions akin to the rule of law early in its history, but not strong states. An ideal modern state, as conceived by Fukuyama, must have all three institutions in a delicate balance. Only in certain parts of Europe, in the late 18th century, did all three institutions come together to what we now recognize as a modern liberal democratic state.
The Origins of Political Order, the first book of the series, described the three important institutions and their development. Political Order and Political Decay begins where the first book left off, focusing on developments in various countries from the French Revolution to the present. The book traces the development of these institutions in China, Japan, Prussia, Latin America and the United States, before warning against the decay of institutions.
Fukuyama describes the early U.S. having a weak state, with goods and offices handed out based on corruption and patrimony, partially because democracy entrenched itself without a strong state with capacity to rule effectively. Before the Pendleton Act of 1883, for example, all political offices were allocated on the basis of patronage.
From the end of the 19th century to the mid-20th century, however, the Progressive Movement and the New Deal transformed the American state and made it much stronger and more effective. Scholars, administrators and politicians advocated for, and eventually built, agencies administered by experts selected on the basis of merit and education instead of political hacks. A workable bureaucracy, tax system and federal infrastructure were products of this transformation.
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Political Order and Political Decay
Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalisation of Democracy is a 2014 book by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama. The book follows Fukuyama's 2011 book, The Origins of Political Order, written to shed light on political institutions and their development in different regions.
Twenty years after his pivotal 1989 essay “The End of History?”, Fukuyama remains committed to the liberal democratic state as an ideal form of government, compared to alternatives such as the Chinese, Russian or Islamist governments. However, he warns against internal forces leading to stagnation and political decay within liberal democracies, which threatens the future of this form of government.
Fukuyama stresses the importance of the three pillars of the modern state, as described in the first volume in the series, The Origins of Political Order:
In other words, in an ideal system, a powerful and efficient state is kept in check by the people, and by the law, which can bind the state itself. Importantly, Fukuyama distinguishes between an effective state and a large state. The former is simply about competence, and it can be present in states with little welfare (Singapore) or extensive welfare (Netherlands).
Different regions and countries developed these three institutions, if at all, at different times. China, for example, developed a strong state early on, but never fully developed the rule of law or political accountability. India developed institutions akin to the rule of law early in its history, but not strong states. An ideal modern state, as conceived by Fukuyama, must have all three institutions in a delicate balance. Only in certain parts of Europe, in the late 18th century, did all three institutions come together to what we now recognize as a modern liberal democratic state.
The Origins of Political Order, the first book of the series, described the three important institutions and their development. Political Order and Political Decay begins where the first book left off, focusing on developments in various countries from the French Revolution to the present. The book traces the development of these institutions in China, Japan, Prussia, Latin America and the United States, before warning against the decay of institutions.
Fukuyama describes the early U.S. having a weak state, with goods and offices handed out based on corruption and patrimony, partially because democracy entrenched itself without a strong state with capacity to rule effectively. Before the Pendleton Act of 1883, for example, all political offices were allocated on the basis of patronage.
From the end of the 19th century to the mid-20th century, however, the Progressive Movement and the New Deal transformed the American state and made it much stronger and more effective. Scholars, administrators and politicians advocated for, and eventually built, agencies administered by experts selected on the basis of merit and education instead of political hacks. A workable bureaucracy, tax system and federal infrastructure were products of this transformation.