A road is not a static piece of asphalt but a dynamic operator that changes the way a government behaves.
April 26, 2026
Original Paper
Roads and the State: A Geometry of Complexity
SSRN · 6639778
The Takeaway
Roads are morphing geometric objects that shift from instruments of war to economic utilities and then to local nuisances. This mundane invention actively shapes the evolution of the state by altering the probability of social order. Common perspective treats infrastructure as a passive service that follows the needs of the people. This research reframes roads as active participants in history that dictate how much control a government can exert. The physical shape of the network determines the very survival of the political system.
From the abstract
Roads are among the simplest artefacts of human civilisation. They are lines drawn across space, connecting one point to another. Their geometry is primitive, grounded in distance, direction, and surface. Yet this simplicity conceals a deeper dynamic. Roads do not possess a fixed function. Their role evolves with the systems within which they are embedded. In moments of existential stress, they emerge as instruments of war, compressing time and enabling the projection of power. As systems stabil