An interesting take on this age old problem.

Malanding


http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2010/10/a-rainfall-theory-of-democracy.html
A rainfall theory of democracy

From Stephen Haber and Victor Menaldo:

Why have some countries remained obstinately authoritarian despite
repeated waves of democratization while others have exhibited
uninterrupted democracy? This paper explores the emergence and
persistence of authoritarianism and democracy. We argue that settled
agriculture requires moderate levels of precipitation, and that
settled agriculture eventually gave birth to the fundamental
institutions that under-gird today’s stable democracies. Although all
of the world’s societies were initially tribal, the bonds of tribalism
weakened in places where the surpluses associated with settled
agriculture gave rise to trade, social differentiation, and taxation.
In turn, the economies of scale required to efficiently administer
trade and taxes meant that feudalism was eventually replaced by the
modern territorial state, which favored the initial emergence of
representative institutions in Western Europe. Subsequently, when
these initial territorial states set out to conquer regions populated
by tribal peoples, the institutions that could emerge in those
conquered areas again reflected nature’s constraints. An instrumental
variables approach demonstrates that while low levels of rainfall
cause persistent autocracy and high levels of rainfall strongly favor
it as well, moderate rainfall supports stable democracy. This
econometric strategy also shows that rainfall works through the
institutions of the modern territorial state borne from settled
agriculture, institutions that are proxied for by low levels of
contemporary tribalism.

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