Application of statistical physics to politics

Serge Galam

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 1999, vol. 274, issue 1, 132-139

Abstract: The concept and technics of real space renormalization group are applied to study majority rule voting in hierarchical structures. It is found that democratic voting can lead to totalitarianism by keeping in power a small minority. Conditions of this paradox are analyzed and singled out. Indeed majority rule produces critical thresholds to absolute power. Values of these thresholds can vary from 50% up to at least 77%. The associated underlying mechanism could provide an explanation for both former apparent eternity of communist leaderships and their sudden collapse.

Date: 1999
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378437199003209
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only. Journal offers the option of making the article available online on Science direct for a fee of $3,000

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:274:y:1999:i:1:p:132-139

DOI: 10.1016/S0378-4371(99)00320-9

Access Statistics for this article

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications is currently edited by K. A. Dawson, J. O. Indekeu, H.E. Stanley and C. Tsallis

More articles in Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().