The emergence of government as organized violence-cum-robbery

Abstract: The protracted emergence of hierarchical government is most clearly epitomized in the shift from tribal societies to chiefdoms, the two archetypical forms of societal organization at either side of the emergence of hierarchy. To explain this shift, we present a model built on individual production and appropriation of ex ante homogeneous players. We show that coalition formation is essential for hierarchies to emergence and that pivotal power within coalitions depends on monopolizing information rather than violence capacities. Also, we highlight the limits of hierarchical chiefdoms competing against tribes and thus help explaining why the shift was that protracted.