Mechanisms of political evolution, the pattern of turbulence in the era of modernization, and the role of organized violence

Political evolution leads to, usually irreversible, transitions of societies to phases of development with more effective orders of social interaction in the spheres of power and prestige. Such orders allow societies to dominate their rivals which are in previous phases of development and/or serve as role models for them. Such were the transitions from wandering hunter-gatherer groups to barbarian chiefdoms, then to early states, mature states (empires, absolutist monarchies) and various types of modern societies with transversal statehood, among which there are both ascents to new stages and failures leading to preceding phases of development. A new way of integrating known and partly modified concepts of political sciences, macro-, meso- and micro-sociology, theory of evolution and social psychology is presented: figuration (N. Elias) as a combination of social order (D. North, etc.) with mental and techno-natural orders; relations, institutions and organizations (K. Marx, R. Merton, G. Simon, etc.); sources of power as social universals (M. Weber, M. Mann); challenges and responses (A. Toynbee); concerns, providing structures, costs and tensions (A. Stinchcombe); dynamic strategies and strategy complexes (Gr. Snooks); positive feedback in evolution processes (R. Alexander, K. Stringer, A.V. Korotayev); socialization and enculturation (M. Herskovits et al.); attitudes and habitus (W. Thomas, F. Znaniecki, D. Uznadze, P. Bourdieu), rituals and symbols (E. Durkheim, W. Warner, E. Goffman, R. Collins). The general mechanism of the coevolution of orders and the regular emergence of periods of turbulence (with international wars and waves of revolutions) in the era of modernization are analyzed. The author also reflects on the key role of organized violence structures in choosing the vector of post-crisis development, including transitions to a new phase of political evolution.