Web of Power: How Elite Networks Shaped War and Politics in China*

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bai, Ying; Jia, Ruixue; Yang, Jiaojiao
• 署名单位: Chinese University of Hong Kong; University of California System; University of California San Diego; National Bureau of Economic Research; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK
• 刊物名称: QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-5533
• DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjac041
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 1067-1108
• 关键词: Leadership

摘要

Scholars have argued that powerful individuals can exert influence on the path of a nation's development. Yet the process through which people 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 person-Zeng Guofan-used 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 prewar elites in Zeng's networks experienced an increase in soldier deaths after he took power; and (ii) postwar political power shifted significantly toward the home counties of these 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.