I think geography is overlooked, when considering how societies evolve.
England is an island, so they are seafaring, without having close neighbors to protect against, all the time. So they could pick and choose who to colonize. Consider that Italy is similar, in being a peninsula, with mountains protecting the land connection. As well as being central to the Mediterranean and thus in a postion to balance the various other countries. Greece also has a lot of coasts, as well as small, very isolated places, that the embryo of nationhood, the city state, had a good location to evolve.
Europe is very territorially divided, with lots of forests, rivers, mountains, etc, allowing geography to define how people defined themselves. Thus nations.
While Asia is much more open, so cultures had to be much more tribal, than territorial.
Keep in mind the cycle between adulthood and childhood, where authority is constantly being recycled. A very good book on the origins of Western civilization is, The Five Stages of Greek Religion, by Gilbert Murray;
