Web of Power: How Elite Networks Shaped War and Politics in China / Ying Bai, Ruixue Jia, Jiaojiao Yang.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bai, Ying.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Jia, Ruixue.

Yang, Jiaojiao.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w28667.

NBER working paper series no. w28667

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2021.

Summary:

Scholars have argued that powerful individuals can exert influence on the path of a nation's development. Yet, the process through which individuals can have an effect on macro-level political economy outcomes remains unclear. This study uses the deadliest civil war in modern history, the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864), to elucidate how one individual--Zeng Guofan--employed his personal elite networks to organize an army to suppress the rebellion, and how these networks would affect the nation's power distribution. Two findings stand out: (i) counties that already had more pre-war elites in Zeng's networks experienced an increase in soldier deaths after he took power; and (ii) post-war political power shifted significantly toward the home counties of these very elites, creating a less balanced national-level power distribution. Our findings highlight how micro-level elite networks can influence national politics and societal power distribution, shedding new light on the relationship between elites, war and the state.

Notes:

Print version record

April 2021.