Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 June 2026
I link the emergence of the divine kings (examined in Chapter 6 initially), who dominated many human groups for the last ten thousand years or so, to the development of group minds in politics. The kings were thought to have two bodies: a flesh-and-blood body subject to death, and then a second one that embodied the spirit of the people he ruled over and was the group mind of that people. That group mind did not die even if the king died. I discuss the theories in international relations that nation-states exhibit group minds that significantly determine some of their international diplomatic interactions. I also look into the role that the internet, blockchain technologies, and cryptocurrencies might have on group mind phenomena in relation to sources of political power in the current era.
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