David Stasavage
Representation and Consent: Why They Arose in Europe and Not Elsewhere
New York University
medieval western europeans developed two practices bedrock modern democracy representative government consent governed happen europe elsewhere ask literature say question focusing role political ideas economic development warfare consider europe comparison byzantine empire abbasid caliphate song dynasty china argue ultimately europes different path may accident produced western europes experience outside invasion replaced western roman empire set small fragmented polities rulers relatively weak small size meant low transaction costs maintaining assemblies relatively weak position rulers meant consent governed necessary also suggest conclusions influence understanding democracy today