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Western Europe, state formation, and genetic pacification.

Peter Frost¹, Henry C Harpending²

¹Department of Anthropology, Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada.

Evolutionary Psychology : an International Journal of Evolutionary Approaches to Psychology and Behavior

|March 10, 2015

Summary

The State

Area of Science:

Sociology
Criminology
History

Background:

State monopoly on violence historically aimed to pacify social relations.
Early medieval Europe (5th-11th centuries) saw slow pacification due to weak law enforcement and resistance to capital punishment.

Observation:

An 11th-century consensus between Church and State promoted punishment for societal peace.
Increased use of the death penalty by courts led to a significant decline in the homicide rate from the 14th to 20th centuries.

Findings:

The homicide rate dramatically decreased over centuries, with fewer violent crimes and a shift towards crimes of passion or intoxication.
While harsher punishments and cultural conditioning are cited, environmental selection against violent propensities may also explain reduced violence.

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Implications:

Understanding historical shifts in state power and punishment is crucial for contemporary criminology.
The long-term impact of state-sanctioned violence on societal violence reduction warrants further interdisciplinary study.