ROCKING OUR PRIORS

What led to the emergence of states? David Schönholzer and Pieter François have a fascinating new paper, arguing that states, cooperation and conflict all emerged more quickly and more typically in places with great farming and weak exit options. Their paper: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7c34efbpe1ezy67/OOS_web.pdf?dl=0 My substack: https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/the-origins-of-states

When states are under siege, they militarise. Frightened publics want bellicose leaders and higher military spending. Once in power, militarists entrench their institutional and cultural dominance. They fan fears, act tough, and secure public support. Conflicts change popular priorities, not least by reinforcing respect and reverence for macho leaders. Countries threatened by war and terrorism are thus more likely to be governed by men. Peace, therefore, is a hugely important pathway to gender equality.

Prisons may have far-reaching effects on culture, especially where incarceration is widespread. Russia has high rates of both imprisonment and homophobia. 66% of Russians don’t want gay neighbours. That’s increased from 58% in 1999. Almost everywhere elsewhere in Europe, homophobia has fallen. What explains Russian exceptionalism? An important new paper by Maxim Ananyev and Michael Poyker suggests that Russia’s prisons may have fermented homophobia. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4227900 Trigger warning: this piece discusses physical and sexual torture. Substack: https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/did-gulags-turn-russians-anti-gay

Culturally tight societies tend to have fewer innovations. Could asymmetric cultural policing help explain women's lower share of patents and leadership? Xin Qin et al 2023: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad238/7227277 Link to all papers: https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/does-patriarchal-policing-suppress

A wealth of evidence from the US, Eastern Europe and Latin America suggests that when voters are concerned about corruption, they favour female outsiders. Graphs and links to articles can be found at https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/corruption-and-votes-for-women

The new “Barbie” film portrays the rise and fall of patriarchy. I have assessed its empirical accuracy. If you’ve watched it and want to reflect on real world parallels, you might enjoy my review. But if you just want to enjoy it or are yet to see it, PLEASE DO NOT LISTEN.

Right-wing parties have surged to power in Italy and Greece. Spaniards vote tomorrow, it may be for a right-wing government. What explains this trend? Economic stagnation has exacerbated frustrations, especially around masculinity. Men can no longer provide for their families single-handedly. Right-wing leaders have gained popularity by celebrating motherhood, vilifying feminists and scape-goating migrants. Substack link: https://draliceevans.substack.com/publish/post/135352414

Everyone knows that Muslim societies are more likely to be authoritarian and marred in civil war. The typical Muslim society is twice as likely to experience a civil war with 1000 battle deaths a year. The big question is why? Islamic culture, Islamic law, the ulema-state alliance and oil have all been suggested. But they are inadequate. They fail to explain Muslim countries’ heterogeneity. Why are some Muslim countries (like Indonesia) actually democratic? Why are some Muslim dictatorships so durable, while others (like Somalia) have erupted in civil war? Faisal Ahmed presents a new theory: “Conquest and Rents”. Of all the books I’ve read in 2023, this is one of the most original, insightful, and important. It radically improved my understanding of our world.

‘Good jobs’ for high school graduates have dwindled. ​Manufacturing and other manual-intensive occupations that on average paid substantially higher salaries than services have disappeared. This has undercut men’s ability to provide, bruised their egos, fostered patriarchal nostalgia, and catalysed votes for the far right. This podcast explains how we got here and who is affected. For graphs and links, please see my substack: https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/structural-transformation-and-patriarchal?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

Did you know that Arab tribes in the 8th-7th century BCE were mostly led by women? While this is not evidence of wider matriarchy, it certainly rocks my priors. Arab women were once revered as leaders. How do we know? Assyrian royal inscriptions refer to nine “Queens of the Arabs”. The images referenced are in my substack: https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/arab-matriarchy?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2 This podcast draws on research by Ellie Bennet which you can read here: https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/328402