0.0/5 rating (0 votes)

THE DEATH PENALTY AS A POLITICAL INSTITUTION IN THE PLEISTOCENE: CLARIFYING THE NATURE OF POLITICS

Author (s)

Melkov S.A., Perendzhiev A.N.

Abstract

Relevance. To preserve political science as an independent discipline, it is necessary to continue understanding its object by studying the nature of politics that emerged in the Pleistocene. The aim of the study is to clarify the nature of politics by understanding the genesis of the formation of such a political institution as the death penalty in the Pleistocene. The objectives of the study are: to actualize the problems in understanding politics by Russian political science, to consider the genesis of the death penalty as a result of self-domestication of man in the Pleistocene and the limitation of reactive aggression, clarification of the dynamics of the institutional formation of proactive aggression among hunter-gatherers. Methodology. Historical and comparative methods were used to address the overall research objectives. To identify common themes and themes among anthropologists, sociobiologists, and primatologists, methods of synthesis, comparative analysis, and institutional analysis were employed. Extrapolation was employed to analyze the sources. The theory of parochial altruism was used. The study's results indicate that the intragroup relationships among our ancestors that developed during the Pleistocene can be assessed as egalitarian. As a result of self-domestication, peaceful, virtuous relationships developed in hunter-gatherer groups, and reactive aggression declined sharply, facilitated by animism. However, a new type of aggression developed against aggressive men in these groups—proactive aggression. With the advent of speech, one of its institutional forms became the organized and planned death penalty by a group of men, applied against the dominance of the most aggressive man in the group. The institution of the death penalty can be considered political because it ensured intra-group security, prevented dominance, formed numerous taboos, and supported social power among Homo sapiens. Conclusions: The relationship between our ancestors' invention of the death penalty and the development of male power and human domestication during the Pleistocene has been established. It is clarified that historically, power among hunter-gatherers was the result of the struggle of several strong men with the dominance of the most aggressive man, and this led to the emergence of a new power – the power of the male coalition. It has been shown that the evolutionary limitation of reactive aggression in our ancestors led to an increase in proactive (organized and carefully planned) aggression, and the first political institution in the Pleistocene was the death penalty.

Keywords

animism, virtue, domestication, male power, domestication, parochial altruism, Pleistocene, political institutions, nature of politics, proactive aggression, reactive aggression, reputation, capital punishment, taboo, egalitarianism

References

1. Ustinovich, E. S. On the Current Stage of Development of Political and Economic Research in Russian Political Science: "Political Economy" or "Economic Political Science"? / E. S. Ustinovich // Bulletin of the Southwestern State University. Series: History and Law. 2021. Vol. 11, No. 5. DOI 10.21869/2223-1501-2021-11-5-167-178. EDN XSHUHF.

2. Problems of Modernization of the Economy and Economic Policy of Russia. Economic doctrine of the Russian Federation / Editorial and publishing group: S. S. Sulakshin, V. E. Bagdasaryan, M. V. Vilisov, et al. / Proceedings of the Russian Scientific Economic Meeting (Moscow, October 19-20, 2007). Moscow: Scientific expert, 2008.

3. Economic Doctrine of the Russian Federation (mock draft) / edited by S. S. Sulakshin. Monograph. Moscow: Scientific Expert, 2008. 360 pp.

4. Shishkina T. Economic Anthropology: History of Origin and Development / Tatyana Shishkina. Moscow: AST Publishing House, 2025.

5. Mission of the Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Research [Electronic resource]. URL: htpps://web.archive.org/web/20160403074803/http://www.isepr.ru/about/mission/

6. RIA Novosti [website] Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Research (Foundation) [Electronic resource]. URL: htpps://ria.ru/organization_Institut_...skikh_issledovanijj_fond/

7. Science and Power: the problem of communications / Editorial and publishing group: S.S. Sulakshin, E. V. Sazonova, I. Yu. Kolesnik, et al. // Proceedings of the All-Russian scientific and practical conference (Moscow, September 26, 2008). Moscow: Scientific expert, 2009.

8. Smorgunov, L. V. Ontological Turns in Modern Political Science: in search of adequacy to politics / L. V. Smorgunov // Social and humanitarian knowledge. 2020. Vol. 6, No. 2(22). PP. 129. DOI 10.18255/2412-6519-2020-2-122-133. – EDN YPBVNM.

9. Dankova Zh. Yu., Zabuzov O. N., Melkov S. A. New Scientific Specialty in Political Science "Public Administration and Industry Policies" as a special subject field of political science // Science. Culture. Society. 2022. Vol. 28, No. 4. DOI: 10.19181/nko.2022.28.4.9. EDN EXRLWW.

10.Karelina I. M. State Regulation of Public Relations: political science analysis. Moscow: Ugreshskaya Typography LLC, 2009.

11.Veduta E. N. Strategy and Economic Policy of the State. Moscow: Academic Project, 2003.

12.Yakunin V. I., Bagdasaryan V. E., Sulakshin S. S. Ideology of Economic Policy: the problem of Russian choice. Moscow: Scientific expert, 2008.

13.Putin doubted that political science could be considered a science [Electronic resource]. URL: htpps://www.rbc.ru/politics/07/07/2022/62c709d79a79476ce598ffbf

14.Universities will allocate quotas to engineers [Electronic resource]. URL: htpps://www.kommersant.ru/doc/7514525

15.Soloviev, A. I. Politics and Public Administration. Essays on Theory and Methodology: Monograph. Moscow: Aspect Press Publishing House, 2021.

16.Demidov A. I., Dolgov V. M., Malko A. V. Political Science: Textbook. Moscow: Gardariki, 2005.

17.Political Science. General editor A. P. Koshkin; responsible editor V. V. Cherdantsev. Moscow: KNORUS, 2019.

18.Pugachev V. P., Solovyov A. I. Introduction to Political Science: Textbook for University Students. Moscow: Aspect Press, 2010.

19.De Waal, F. Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex in Primates / translated from English by D. Kralechkin; edited by V. Anashvili; National Research University Higher School of Economics. Moscow: Publishing House of the Higher School of Economics, 2018.

20.Auzan, A. A. Cultural Codes of Economics: How Values Influence Competition, Democracy, and the Welfare of the People. Moscow: AST Publishing House, 2025.

21.Wilson E. Eusociality. Moscow: Alpina Non-Fiction, 2020.

22.Schmitt K. Theory of the partisan. M.: Praxis, 2007.

23.Juncker, T. Human Evolution / Thomas Juncker; translated from German by Polina Shchekina. Minsk: Diskurs, 2020.

24.Wrangham, R. The Virtue Paradox: The Strange History of the Relationship between Morality and Violence in Human Evolution / translated from English by S. Dolotovskaya. Moscow: AST: COPRUS Publishing House, 2025.

25.Ridley, M. The Origins of Altruism and Virtue / Matt Ridley; [translated from English by A. Chechina]. Moscow: Izdatelstvo "E", 2016.

26.Dugatkin L., Trut L. How to tame a fox (and turn it into a dog). Siberian evolutionary experiment. Moscow: Alpina non-fiction, 2019.

27.Anthony Stevens. The Two-Million-Year-Old Self. Moscow: Kastalia, 2021.

28.Waal de F. Mother's Last Hug: What Animal Emotions Teach Us; Translated from English. Moscow: Alpina Non-Fiction, 2020.

29.Burch E. S. The Eskimos. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.

30.Boehm, C. 1999. Hierarchy in the Forest: The Evolution of Egalitarian Behavior. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

31.Durkheim, E. The Division jf Labor in Society. New York: Free Press, 1902.

32.Lepeshkina O. I. Death Penalty: Experience of a Comprehensive Study / O. I. Lepeshkina. St. Petersburg: Aleteya, 2010.

33.Freud Z. Totem and Taboo / Sigmund Freud; translated from German by R.F. Dodeltsova. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2023.

34.Frazer J. The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings // The Golden Bough.

Full text

Download

Publication date

Friday, 03 April 2026

Article Language

Section

Article Type

Year

Journal number

Pages

UDK

BBK

THE DEATH PENALTY AS A POLITICAL INSTITUTION IN THE PLEISTOCENE: CLARIFYING THE NATURE OF POLITICS

Author (s)

Abstract

Keywords

References

Full text

Publication date

Journal’s Indexing

Our friends

Archive

Visit website