The Feudal Revolution and Europe's Rise: Political Divergence of the Christian West and the Muslim World before 1500 CE

@article{Blaydes2013TheFR,
  title={The Feudal Revolution and Europe's Rise: Political Divergence of the Christian West and the Muslim World before 1500 CE},
  author={Lisa Blaydes and Eric Chaney},
  journal={American Political Science Review},
  year={2013},
  volume={107},
  pages={16 - 34}
}
We document a divergence in the duration of rule for monarchs in Western Europe and the Islamic world beginning in the medieval period. While leadership tenures in the two regions were similar in the 8th century, Christian kings became increasingly long lived compared to Muslim sultans. We argue that forms of executive constraint that emerged under feudal institutions in Western Europe were associated with increased political stability and find empirical support for this argument. While feudal… Expand
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