ISAWorkshop Schedule [v. 3-12-06]
“Measuring
and modeling cycles of state formation, decline and
upward sweeps since the bronze age”
[upward sweeps= those cases in which much larger states(empires) emerge than have existed previously within a region.]
Nsf proposal is at http://irows.ucr.edu/research/citemp/globstat/globstatprop.htm
angkhor wat
Spatial and temporal framework:
1. the central system
(political-military network or system of states)
(from 2500 BCE or as soon as the size of the major states can be estimated)
Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Aegean, Western Asia , the
eastern Med and then expanding to the west, east , north and south as
delineated by David Wilkinson.
2. the East Asian region from the bronze age to now.
3. South Asia after the rise of states in the
because not enough information)
4. and probably Mesoamerica, possibly the Mayan region,
Workshop
schedule:
8:30am-5pm Monday March 20, 2006. Town and Country Resort,
Towne Room,
(each session will have at least 20 minutes for discussion; each presenter should talk for about 15 minutes)
8:30- 9:00 Welcome. Chris Chase-Dunn, overview of the 3 year project, Jobs we want to do. Final products we want to produce. Biggest issues at this point. Expense reimbursement forms, etc.
Empirical tasks[1]:
9:00- 9:50 Walter
Scheidel and Dan Pasciuti , Estimating the population sizes of largest
cities, states and empires in the Bronze and Iron ages: problems and proposed
techniques for improving upon existing estimates. Measurement error models. And
excel file contains
http://irows.ucr.edu/research/citemp/data/citypopsizes.xls
9:50-10::40: Guillermo Algaze and Chris Chase-Dunn Measuring Empire Sizes and identifying upward sweeps: “Methods for estimating the territorial sizes of empires and trading states” Rein Taagepera’s coding of the territorial sizes of empires is here:
http://irows.ucr.edu/research/citemp/data/empsizes.xls
Break: 20 minutes
11:00-12:10 Gene Anderson, David Wilkinson and Tom Hall Coding Core/Periphery positions: “Coding semiperipherality: definitional and empirical issues” [differentiate between different types of semiperipheral development: (khaldun processes, randall Collins: geopolitical marcher state advantage, metaethnic frontiers (turchin-quigley), ecologically marginal regions (toynbee), recently formed states out on the edge of an old core region (wilkinson), and etc.] Start with wilkinson’s “cores, peripheries and civilizations” at http://www.irows.ucr.edu/cd/books/c-p/chap4.htm
Tom Hall’s draft workshop paper is here: http://irows.ucr.edu/research/citemp/workshop/thallwkshopap.doc
12:10- 1:00 Lunch on your own. Back by 1:00
1:00- 1:50 Modeling approaches and substantive processes: Bob Hanneman and Claudio Cioffi-Revilla
What are the options regarding different methods for
quantitatively modeling systems in which there are two or more levels of
analysis, e.g. states and interstate systems? What are the pros and cons for
using these different methods taking into account the focus of our project,
which is long-term change in interstate systems since the Bronze Age? We want
to consider classical mathematical systems modeling, spatial modeling,
agent-based modeling, modeling of networks, hybrids and any other approaches
that may be useful.
1:50-2:40 Peter
Turchin and Jonathan Turner.
Modeling agrarian states, rise and fall in interstate systems (including
non-state peoples) and upward sweeps in which states emerge that are much
larger than any in adjacent regions.
2:40-3:30: Steve Sanderson and Doug White
Modeling trading states and network dynamics.
Semiperipheral capitalist city-states emerge in the Bronze Age (e.g. Assur – the old Assyrian city-state and its colonies) and replicate in the Iron Age (e.g. the Phoenician city-states. These “thallasocracies” often have colonial empires but the outposts are chosen to facilitate profit-making. The rise and fall of these states may obey different rules than the rise and fall of agrarian empires and so they may need to be modeled differently. All systems are composed of interaction networks that include trade of different sorts (bulk goods, prestige goods) as well as political alliances and military conflict. Network theories node have been used to account for the rise of large cities in human ecology, and more sophisticated network theories are being used to study changes in settlement size hierarchies. :
Break: 15 minutes
3:45- 4:35 William R.
Thompson and Chris Chase-Dunn
Modeling international political integration and world state
formation. Global governance in the modern world system has arguably displayed
some emergent evolutionary properties (e.g. unusual resistance to world empire
formation and instead the rise and fall of a series of system leaders
(hegemons) that do not conquer their neighboring core states. But a process of
international political integration may have been occurring within the context
of the still strong state system over the past 250 years. Waves of
decolonization extended the European state system to the rest of the world, and
international political organizations began to emerge (e.g. the Concert of
Europe, the
4:35- 5:00 wrap up, summary and next steps.
5:00pm adjourn
6:00 pm wine and cheese at Doug and Lilyan’s home in La Jolla 7:30 dinner out