Saved from Extinction: Evolutionary Theorising,Politics and the State

Abstract

Evolutionary theorising has a long history in social scientists' attempts to interrogate processes of change. However, for many years evolutionary theory has been damaged by its association with teleological and reductionist reasoning. Nevertheless in the past two decades, a new breed of neo-evolutionary perspective has emerged within a variety of social science sub-disciplines. This recent literature has attempted to revise the theory in order to emphasise that change is a contingent process which can take multiple paths and is underpinned by a constant interplay between agents and their environment. Although much of this literature has failed largely to impact upon the work of political scientists, recent years have also seen various attempts to apply an evolutionary conception of change to both the state and political change in general. This review article examines some of the key themes to have emerged from the renewed interest in evolutionary theorising, whilst particular attention is paid to attempts to develop the concept of political evolution.