Contents

1.

Introduction

1

1.1.

A different kind of social science

2

1.2.

Overview of the book

5

2.

The Theory of Regal and Kungic Cultures

7

2.1.

In a nutshell: ‘regal’ and ‘kungic’ explained

7

2.2.

Evolutionary basis for regality theory

9

2.3.

An evolutionarily stable strategy

13

2.4.

The behavior of the leader

15

2.5.

Why are most warriors and chiefs men?

17

2.6.

Cultural effects of regal and kungic tendencies

21

3.

Contributions from Other Theories

27

3.1.

Influence of the environment: Contributions from ecological theory

27

3.2.

Nature or nurture: Evolution of sociality

32

3.3.

Fertility: Contributions from life history theory

34

3.4.

Contributions from political demography

35

3.5.

World view and personality: Authoritarianism theory

39

3.6.

Contributions from other social psychological theories

42

3.7.

Contributions from social values theories

45

3.8.

The theory of tight and loose cultures and other culture theories

48

3.9.

Contributions from human empowerment theory

56

3.10.

Moral panics: Contributions from the sociology of deviance

59

4.

Different Kinds of War in Human History

65

4.1.

The rise of empires: Contributions from cultural selection theory

65

4.2.

The fall of empires: Contributions from historical dynamics theory

69

4.3.

General theories of war and peace

72

4.4.

Changing patterns of war

76

4.5.

Theories of revolution

88

5.

Economic Determinants of Conflict and Fear

93

5.1.

Fear is profitable: The economy of the mass media

93

5.2.

Economic booms and busts

100

5.3.

Greed or grievance: Economic theories of civil war

107

5.4.

The resource curse

111

5.5.

Example: Proxy war in Afghanistan

116

6.

Strategic Uses of Fear

125

6.1.

Terrorism conflicts

125

6.2.

The strategy of tension in Italy and elsewhere

135

6.3.

Fabrication of threats and conflicts

144

6.4.

Example: Why World War II started

157

7.

Regality Theory Applied to Ancient Cultures

163

7.1.

Andamanese

166

7.2.

Arrernte

170

7.3.

Babylonians

173

7.4.

Chiricahua Apache

176

7.5.

Copper Inuit (Eskimo)

179

7.6.

E De (Rhadé)

181

7.7.

Ganda

183

7.8.

Gilyak

188

7.9.

Hausa

191

7.10.

Inca

195

7.11.

!Kung

198

7.12.

Maasai

203

7.13.

Mbuti

207

7.14.

Somali

211

7.15.

Warao

213

7.16.

Yahgan

216

7.17.

Yanomamo

218

7.18.

Yi (Lolo, Nuosu)

222

8.

Statistical Testing of Regality Theory

227

8.1.

Problems of cross-cultural statistics

227

8.2.

Ancient cultures, large sample

230

8.3.

Subsample, 18 cultures

244

8.4.

Contemporary cultures, large sample

252

8.5.

Evidence from existing studies

267

8.6.

Conclusion of the statistical tests

269

9.

Discussion and Conclusion

271

9.1.

Summary of findings

271

9.2.

Three epochs in human history

273

9.3.

The regal/kungic dynamics and human social development

277

9.4.

New explanations of well-known phenomena

279

9.5.

Integration with other theories

281

9.6.

Policy lessons

283

9.7.

Supporting evidence

288

9.8.

What regality theory can be used for

290

9.9.

Further discussion

291

10.

Bibliography

293

11.

Illustrations

345

Index

349