Intergroup competition

Intergroup competition is the process by which human groups — tribes, chiefdoms, states, and other politically organized collectives — compete for resources, territory, mates, and survival. In the framework of cultural group selection, intergroup competition is the primary selection pressure that drives the evolution of prosocial norms and institutions. Groups with more effective cooperation, better military organization, more productive economies, and more resilient social structures tend to absorb, displace, or exterminate less effective groups. The competition operates through multiple channels: direct warfare, differential demographic growth, economic competition, and the differential prestige and attractiveness of successful groups to potential migrants. Intergroup competition is not merely a historical phenomenon; it is a structural feature of human social evolution that has shaped the institutional landscape of the modern world.