The Internal Dynamics of the Early State [and Comments and Reply]

Abstract

This article addresses the question of why only some early states develop into mature ones. The main differences between the two types of states having been outlined, four fields are indicated in which changes may take place. The field of the societal format involves problems of infrastructure, communication, and control. The field of economic development includes such aspects as trade and markets and the income and expenditures of the state. In the field of legitimation what is central is the balance between consensual and coercive power; in the field of bureaucratic organization it is the efficiency and sophistication of the administrative apparatus. Where developments in these four fields tend to reinforce each other, the evolution of the early state into the mature one takes place-provided there are no counteractive external influences such as conquest or colonization. The internal dynamics of the early state seems to be based on efforts to maximize personal or institutional influence. Efforts to overcome contradictions and cope with conflict appear to be a second important element in this process.