Reversals of fortune: Shared governance, “democracy,” and reiterated problem-solving
What can the deep past tell us about how “good government” is instituted, replicated, and maintained through time? After a comparative look at late prehistoric political formation in Europe, a case study from Sweden is examined. During the Iron Age, systems of participatory governance developed acro...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-08-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Political Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.870773/full |
| _version_ | 1811284050108743680 |
|---|---|
| author | T. L. Thurston T. L. Thurston |
| author_facet | T. L. Thurston T. L. Thurston |
| author_sort | T. L. Thurston |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | What can the deep past tell us about how “good government” is instituted, replicated, and maintained through time? After a comparative look at late prehistoric political formation in Europe, a case study from Sweden is examined. During the Iron Age, systems of participatory governance developed across Europe, perhaps in response to the autocracies of the previous Bronze Age. Heterarchical structures with systems of checks and balances provided voice for ordinary people, as well as leaders, but there were clear “reversals of fortune,” as autocracy and more egalitarian structures were interspersed through time. The so-called “Long Iron Age” is consequently seen as an extended period of tension between different forms of government, different political ideologies, and the dynamic negotiation of socio-political norms, with repercussions that extend into recent times. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T02:21:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-26ceaf9c2b1a43f1997baa2c675c2397 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-3145 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T02:21:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Political Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-26ceaf9c2b1a43f1997baa2c675c23972022-12-22T03:06:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Political Science2673-31452022-08-01410.3389/fpos.2022.870773870773Reversals of fortune: Shared governance, “democracy,” and reiterated problem-solvingT. L. Thurston0T. L. Thurston1Department of Anthropology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, United StatesDepartment of Environment and Sustainability, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, United StatesWhat can the deep past tell us about how “good government” is instituted, replicated, and maintained through time? After a comparative look at late prehistoric political formation in Europe, a case study from Sweden is examined. During the Iron Age, systems of participatory governance developed across Europe, perhaps in response to the autocracies of the previous Bronze Age. Heterarchical structures with systems of checks and balances provided voice for ordinary people, as well as leaders, but there were clear “reversals of fortune,” as autocracy and more egalitarian structures were interspersed through time. The so-called “Long Iron Age” is consequently seen as an extended period of tension between different forms of government, different political ideologies, and the dynamic negotiation of socio-political norms, with repercussions that extend into recent times.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.870773/fulldemocracycontingencyIron AgemedievalEuropeSweden |
| spellingShingle | T. L. Thurston T. L. Thurston Reversals of fortune: Shared governance, “democracy,” and reiterated problem-solving Frontiers in Political Science democracy contingency Iron Age medieval Europe Sweden |
| title | Reversals of fortune: Shared governance, “democracy,” and reiterated problem-solving |
| title_full | Reversals of fortune: Shared governance, “democracy,” and reiterated problem-solving |
| title_fullStr | Reversals of fortune: Shared governance, “democracy,” and reiterated problem-solving |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reversals of fortune: Shared governance, “democracy,” and reiterated problem-solving |
| title_short | Reversals of fortune: Shared governance, “democracy,” and reiterated problem-solving |
| title_sort | reversals of fortune shared governance democracy and reiterated problem solving |
| topic | democracy contingency Iron Age medieval Europe Sweden |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.870773/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tlthurston reversalsoffortunesharedgovernancedemocracyandreiteratedproblemsolving AT tlthurston reversalsoffortunesharedgovernancedemocracyandreiteratedproblemsolving |