Global history records an astonishing variety of forms of social organization. Yet almost universally, males subordinate females. How does the relationship between men and women shape the wider political order? The First Political Order is a groundbreaking demonstration that the persistent and systematic subordination of women underlies all other institutions, with wide-ranging implications for global security and development.
Incorporating research findings spanning a variety of social science disciplines and comprehensive empirical data detailing the status of women around the globe, the book shows that female subordination functions almost as a curse upon nations. A society’s choice to subjugate women has significant negative consequences: worse governance, worse conflict, worse stability, worse economic performance, worse food security, worse health, worse demographic problems, worse environmental protection, and worse social progress. Yet despite the pervasive power of social and political structures that subordinate women, history—and the data—reveal possibilities for progress. The First Political Order shows that when steps are taken to reduce the hold of inequitable laws, customs, and practices, outcomes for all improve. It offers a new paradigm for understanding insecurity, instability, autocracy, and violence, explaining what the international community can do now to promote more equitable relations between men and women and, thereby, security and peace. With comprehensive empirical evidence of the wide-ranging harm of subjugating women, it is an important book for security scholars, social scientists, policy makers, historians, and advocates for women worldwide.
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I: The First Political Order
- 1. The First Political Order Is the Sexual Political Order
- 2. The Oldest Security Provision Mechanism
- 3. Assessing the Patrilineal/Fraternal Syndrome Today
- Part II: The Effects of the First Political Order
- 4. The Effects of the Syndrome, Part One: Governance and National Security
- 5. The Tremors Caused by Obstructed Marriage Markets: A Closer Look
- 6. The Effects of the Syndrome, Part Two: Human, Economic, and Environmental Security
- 7. The Effects by the Numbers: The Syndrome and Measures of National Outcomes
- Part III: Change
- 8. Change: Historical Successes and Failures
- 9. Conclusion: Contemporary Applications
- Appendix I: Syndrome Scores for 176 Countries
- Appendix II: Colonial Heritage Status Scores
- Appendix III: Testing the Effects: Methods and Extended Results
- Appendix IV: Dichotomization Cutpoints for Logistic Regression Analysis
- Appendix V: High-Syndrome-Encoding Nations with Unexpectedly Good National Outcomes
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
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