Web of Power: How Elite Networks Shaped War and Politics in China

Author:

Bai Ying1,Jia Ruixue2,Yang Jiaojiao1

Affiliation:

1. Chinese University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong

2. University of California , San Diego, and National Bureau of Economic Research, United States, and Centre for Economic Policy Research, United Kingdom

Abstract

Abstract Scholars have argued that powerful individuals can exert influence on the path of a nation’s development. Yet the process through which people can have an effect on macro-level political economy outcomes remains unclear. This study uses the deadliest civil war in modern history, the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864), to elucidate how one person—Zeng Guofan—used his personal elite networks to organize an army to suppress the rebellion, and how these networks would affect the nation’s power distribution. Two findings stand out: (i) counties that already had more prewar elites in Zeng’s networks experienced an increase in soldier deaths after he took power; and (ii) postwar political power shifted significantly toward the home counties of these elites, creating a less balanced national-level power distribution. Our findings highlight how micro-level elite networks can influence national politics and societal power distribution, shedding new light on the relationship between elites, war, and the state.

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Economics and Econometrics

Reference51 articles.

1. “History, Expectations, and Leadership in the Evolution of Social Norms;Acemoglu;Review of Economic Studies,2015

2. “Social Capital vs Institutions in the Growth Process;Ahlerup;European Journal of Political Economy,2009

3. “Replication Data for: ‘Web of Power: How Elite Networks Shaped War and Politics in China’,”;Bai,2022

4. “Do Educated Leaders Matter?;Besley;Economic Journal,2011

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