The Politics of Succession in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

AbstractHow has the problem of succession played out in other parts of the world? This chapter combines a narrative historical analysis of succession arrangements and conflicts in Europe before the introduction of primogeniture and in the other old civilization areas of Eurasia with quantitative data on succession orders and ruler tenure in Imperial China and the Muslim Middle East. The comparative analysis returns the same findings as in the analyses of European monarchies—deaths of rulers repeatedly sparked conflicts, but father-to-son successions calmed the stormy waters of monarchical succession. The chapter also shows that monarchical systems where hereditary elements were very weak—such as the Byzantine Empire and Mamluk Egypt—were pestered by a staggering rate of usurpations and civil wars.