Prof. Douglas Yates to Publish Article in the Oxford Bibliographies Series

Professor Douglas Yates was invited by Oxford University Press to author a bibliographic article on Modern Dynastic Rule in the series Oxford Bibliographies online.

One quarter of the countries in the world today have as their head of state or their head of government a member of a 'dynasty', that is, a succession of people from the same family who play a prominent role in politics and government. Some are constitutional monarchs, others absolute; some are 'dynastic republics' – often called 'neo-patrimonial' regimes – others are famous 'political families' in modern democracies. Dynastic rule has existed in all times of human history. It exists in all regions of the world today. What are the reasons for the longevity, adaptability and perserverence of dynastic rule?

Douglas Yates' article will provide a narrative pathway through about a hundred existing publications that address these various aspects of dynastic rule. The article will be organized in subtopics: constitutional monarchies, absolute monarchies, democratic republics, authoritarian republics, anthropology of kinship, psychology of the family, sociology of patrimonial rule, and political science theories of dynasties.

Oxford Bibliographies was developed cooperatively with scholars and librarians worldwide. It combines the features of an annotated bibliography and a high-level encyclopaedia and has become one of the most authoritative research resources for students and scholars across the world.