Origins of Political Order

Liang Wendao, Liu Yu, Xiong Peiyun, and Xu Zhiyuan co-edited—one of the MIRROR series (005)—keep an open mind and non-utilitarian eyes to see the richness and complexity of the world. This book is guided by Liu Yu's special article "Rereading Fukuyama No. 2: Bringing Back the Country".

Successful modern liberal democracies combine the three mechanisms of a strong state, the rule of law, and accountable government in a stable balance. So where did these three institutions come from in the first place? What forces drove them into being? Under what conditions did it develop? What is the order of creation? What is the relationship between them?

Francis Fukuyama, one of the foremost political thinkers of our time, provides us with a comprehensive picture of how today's political institutions have developed from history. "The Origin of Political Order" (Volume 1) extends the discussion of political order to the primate ancestors of human beings, and then sequentially tells the emergence of human tribal society, the growth of the first modern state in China, the rule of law in India and The beginnings in the Middle East, and the development of accountable government in Europe until the eve of the French Revolution. "The Origin of Political Order" is a rigorous attempt to form an overview of human history and establish a grand framework for understanding the evolution of political institutions through comprehensive multidisciplinary research.

The second volume of this book will extend to contemporary times, so stay tuned.