Central Authority and Order

Bibliographic Data

ID2265459
AuthorsEmily Erikson (0000-0003-2092-4676, University of Massachusetts Amherst, corresponding author), Joseph M Parent (0009-0000-3747-7396, Columbia University)
Year2007
Volume25
Issue3
Pages245-267
Publication date2007-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0735-2751 • E-ISSN: 1467-9558
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9558.2007.00307.x
OpenAlexW2144579230
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited125

Strong central authorities are able to effectively manage costly defection, but are unable to adequately address lesser conflicts because of limits to their ability to monitor and enforce. We argue, counterintuitively, that these limitations build cooperation and trust among subordinates: the limitations contribute to the production of order. First, limits to authority leave space for locally informed decentralized enforcement. Second, central authorities act as powerful but incompetent third parties whose threatened interventions increase incentives to cooperate and, therefore, to trust. We outline the mechanisms by which a strong central authority enforces order and test their utility by considering the secondary literature on rates of conflict in strong, weak, and capricious states. We supplement this evidence, based on association, with a close examination of diverse case studies: baseball umpires, commercial contracts, and domestic disputes. By analyzing these case studies, we isolate and describe the mechanisms by which central authorities produce order in varied settings. We find that central authority may be effective, but the majority of this effectiveness derives from an indirect influence on dyadic relations rather than direct intervention. The state interacts with local communities, but each operates according to distinct logics. The particular character of their interaction produces four mechanisms useful in the production of order. We briefly explore implications for the operation of law as well as the production of generalized trust

Business · Economics · Enforcement · Incentive · Law and economics · Microeconomics · Political science · Psychological intervention · Computer Science · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Law · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems · Legal and Constitutional Studies · Psychology

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