Tracing the Optimal Level of Political and Social Change under Risks and Uncertainties: Some Lessons from Ancient Sparta and Athens

The present paper is inspired by the notions of “financial risk” and uncertainties” transfers their basic reasoning to social science analysis; that is, it develops a theoretical analysis in order explain political change. We know degree change depends on set established institutions society. Societies can face two extremes: volatility, e.g., rapid changes lead instability, which increases risk system or regime collapsing, rigidity, does not permit necessary adaptation thus may again increase collapsing. Thus, an optimal (or ideal) point between extremes, permitting neither too sudden fast nor slow inflexible. To illustrate this, we analyze cases from ancient Greece: Sparta, as society state with many institutional checks balances led rigidity collapse, Athens, 5th century BCE had setting very limited balances, near collapse until late BCE, when new were related some efficient introduced enabled survive world changing circumstances power.