The upheavals of recent decades show us that traditional models of understanding processes of social and economic change are failing to capture real-world risk and volatility. This has resulted in flawed policy that seeks to capture change in terms of the rise or decline of regimes or regions. In order to comprehend current events, understand future risks and decide how to prepare for them, we need to consider economies and social orders as open, complex networks. This highly original work uses the tools of network analysis to understand great transitions in history, particularly those concerning economic development and globalisation. Hilton L. Root shifts attention away from particular agents – whether individuals, groups, nations or policy interventions – and toward their dynamic interactions. Applying insights from complexity science to often overlooked variables across European and Chinese history, he explores the implications of China's unique trajectory and ascendency, as a competitor and counterexample to the West.

'[The] subject is indeed of great importance.'

Kenneth Arrow - Nobel Laureate

'Based on a unique methodological combination of institutional economic, complexity theory and network science, Hilton L. Root´s book provides invaluable new means and ideas to address the big questions of global history. It carries us from guestimates based on sparse data to formal approaches and nuanced comparisons.'

Johannes Preiser-Kapeller - Institute for Medieval Research/Division for Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences

‘Root … helps unravel many puzzles that have intrigued social scientists, such as the motivation behind European overseas expansion.’

Aris Trantidis Source: Journal Perspectives on Politics

‘In our current state of emergency we are highly focused on nation state dynamics. However complexity economics looks at the dominance of systems and networks beyond these constructs. Hilton Root has written the interconnectedness of Europe and China through the lens of history. My conclusion: supply chains and other relationships won't be that easy to dislodge once this crisis is over. I highly recommend this book to our readers, especially those with an interest in economic history.’

Lyric Hale Source: EconVue

‘The term that best describes what this book does is ‘institutional network theory’. Starting from the premises of new institutionalism and applying networks, Root builds a dynamic framework in which to conceive of time and history. Complexity is introduced in his conception of the aggregate system-level behaviour. The result significantly advances our understanding of how agency and structure confront each other.’

Aris Trantidis Source: International Affairs

‘This book provides unprecedented inspiration for scholars of Friedrich Hayek and Michael Polanyi because it takes formation-thinking to a whole new level. Complexity economics, as Root calls it, seems to offer a fascinating new approach to advance our thinking about spontaneous and corporate orders by taking the middle road between economic history (and economic anthropology) and network science. Hopefully, this original volume will not only serve as a useful textbook for university courses, but will also launch a torrent of related studies exploring the social worlds behind our constantly changing economic structures.’

Gábor Bíró Source: LSE Review of Books

‘Hilton Root's Network Origins of the Global Economy contributes unique new perspectives for understanding the political economy of institutional change … some of his key ideas could become the foundations of further hypothesis generation and theory building, which could in turn enrich ongoing academic debates.’

Ammar Malik Source: Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation

‘Network Origins is rich with insights into the deep historical origins of the Great Divergence, insights that will repay future study … makes a vital contribution laying out the key concepts of a network-centered theory of institutional change and in outlining how it could be applied to the questions raised by the Great Divergence.’

Mark Koyama Source: Public Choice

‘Network Origins should alert policy makers to these blind spots, which are the cause of misunderstanding and a lack of trust between China and the West. By taking a long view and capturing the highly disparate historical trajectories of the East and West, this book offers a unified framework to comparatively understand China's internal logic of national development and expansion. It will be indispensable for rethinking global order regarding both China and emerging centers of power in a world where power is far more broadly distributed than during the Cold War.’

Kanishka Balasuriya Source: Governance

‘… a refreshing, alternative reading of some of the great transformations in European and Chinese economic history … the book presents a timely contribution.’

Nana de Graaff Source: International Spectator

‘... offers a new perspective on the study of historical political economy.’

Clair Z. Yang Source: EH.Net