Preface and Part I, Chapters 1-2 Summary and Analysis

In a preface to the book, the author spells out his reasons for writing on his chosen subject. He provides the example of the political organization of Papua, New Guinea, which is largely tribal in organization despite the country having formally adopted representative democracy. He claims that no preceding book has addressed why this happens in some places. The general assumption is that the modern political state evolved somehow from tribal groups, but the evidence of New Guinea would seem to suggest that an evolutionary model is not always appropriate. There is also evidence that political systems sometimes "decay." Fukuyama states that his intention is to examine these two phenomenon beginning with pre-history and through to the French Revolution. He plans to write about modern political organizations in a following volume...