Dynasties in Historical Political Economy

The hereditary transfer of political power within families is a prominent feature of premodern societies and persists in some form even in modern democracies. This chapter reviews the role of dynasties in the historical development of states and how patterns in dynastic politics serve as a useful metric for understanding the evolution of power and state organization in historical political economy research. The chapter identifies and describes three broad declines in the role of dynasties in politics: (1) a decline of monarchy in favor of democracy and other forms of government, (2) a decline in the prevalence of elected members of dynasties in democracies, and (3) a decline in the gendered differences in dynastic entry into politics. Despite these general declines, dynastic ties remain advantageous to politicians’ careers in many countries, especially when it comes to reaching the top echelons of power in the executive.