• DOI:10.1177/0010414019830716
Corpus ID: 29515121

Path Dependence in European Development: Medieval Politics, Conflict, and State Building

@article{Acharya2019PathDI,
  title={Path Dependence in European Development: Medieval Politics, Conflict, and State Building},
  author={Avidit Acharya and Alexander Lee},
  journal={Comparative Political Studies},
  year={2019},
  volume={52},
  pages={2171 - 2206}
}

• Avidit Acharya, Alexander Lee
• Published 2019
• Political Science
• Comparative Political Studies

During the Middle Ages, most European polities operated under a norm that gave only the close male relatives of a monarch a privileged place in the order of succession. When no such heirs were available, succession disputes were more likely, with distant relatives and female(-line) heirs laying competing claims to the throne. These disputes often produced conflicts that destroyed existing institutions and harmed subsequent economic development. A shortage of male heirs to a European monarchy in… Expand