In the present paper we analyse the emergence of the first federations in history, taking as an example the Achaean one. We analyse its structure decision making, institutions and finances. Then, we compare it to the present European Union and point out similarities and differences. Lastly, we...

In the present essay we begin with a short presentation of the Aetolian proto-federation, an ancient Greek federation and then, through an interactive approach we compare its structure and institutions with those of the European Union (EU), a would-be federation and Pakistan, an established...

In the present essay, we develop at first a model of choice by actors to show how a society can take decisions on specific issues according to how flexible or rigid it is in new ideas and trends. Then, by utilizing game theory we explain how the Athenian society abandoned war in favour of a...

In this paper it has been analysed whether and how the Agency for Territorial Cohesion, just recently established and intended to replace the Department for Development and Cohesion Policies, can fit in the complex system of multilevel governance envisaged as per the Community rules for the...

In 1500, Europe was composed of hundreds of statelets and principalities, with weak central authority, no monopoly over the legitimate use of violence, and overlapping jurisdictions. By 1800, only a handful of powerful, centralized nation states remained. We build a model that explains both the...

Do capitalism and conflicts go hand in hand? Are the military and markets complements? Indeed, many conservative advocates of markets also passionately support the military, and many people who oppose war also oppose markets. Nineteenth-century writer Richard Cobden, however, maintained that the...

In 1500, Europe was composed of hundreds of statelets and principalities, with weak central authority, no monopoly over the legitimate use of violence, and multiple, overlapping levels of jurisdiction. By 1800, Europe had consolidated into a handful of powerful, centralized nation states. We...

This paper studies the causes and consequences of political centralization and fragmentation in China and Europe. We argue that the severe and unidirectional threat of external invasion fostered political centralization in China while Europe faced a wider variety of smaller external threats and...

Las interrelaciones entre el gasto militar y el civil y sus consecuencias económicas y sociales durante el siglo XX han sido objeto de numerosas investigaciones desde hace varias décadas. En las publicadas hasta mediados del decenio de 1970 se defiende que el gasto social y la economía...

We provide quantitative evidence on the relationship between military spending and innovation in the 19th century. Combining innovation data from world fairs and historical military data across Europe, we show that national military spending is associated with national innovation towards war...