Empires: The Logic of World Domination from Ancient Rome to the United States
- ISBN-10
- 0745638724
- ISBN-13
- 9780745638720
- Series
- Empires
- Category
- Political Science
- Pages
- 264
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2007-06-11
- Publisher
- Polity
- Author
- Herfried Münkler
Description
"Herfried Munkler is a walking one-man think tank." Die Zeit Until recently, it was thought by many that empires were relics of the past. But suddenly, in the wake of 9/11, the global war on terror and the invasion of Iraq, the question of imperial power has returned to the centre of debate: we now seem to be faced with a new American empire that many people regard as threatening. Do the politicians in Washington dictate the rules that the rest of the world must follow? Or do empires have a logic of their own to which even the most powerful rulers must succumb? In this major new book, Herfried Munkler analyses the characteristics of empires and traces the rise and fall of imperial powers from Ancient Rome to the present day. What is an empire? What risks does an imperial order face and what opportunities are offered? Munkler shows how empires provide stability and examines the dangers they face when their powers are overstretched. He argues that, while earlier empires from Ancient China and Ancient Rome to the Spanish, Portuguese and British empires had their own historical conditions, certain basic principles concerning the development and preservation of power can be discerned in all empires and are still relevant today. This book is a commanding walk through the history of empires and at the same time a brilliant analysis of the most modern of topics. It will appeal to students and scholars of international politics and history as well as general readers interested in political history and contemporary world politics.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2007-06-11
- 248 pages
- Paperback
- Polity
Similar books
-
Empires
By Michael W. Doyle73-75 ; and P. M. Sweezy , “ Peoples ' Imperialism , ” in S. Harris , ed . , Schumpeter : Social Scientist ( Cambridge , Mass . , 1951 ) . 37. Schumpeter , “ Sociology of Imperialism , " p . 6. The basic idea is quite simple , though ...
-
The Rule of Empires: Those Who Built Them, Those Who Endured Them, and Why They Always Fall
By Timothy ParsonsIn The Rule of Empires, Timothy Parsons gives a sweeping account of the evolution of empire from its origins in ancient Rome to its most recent twentieth-century embodiment.
-
Empire's Crossroads: A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to the Present Day
By Carrie GibsonTraces the story of the coveted area from the northern rim of South America up to Cuba, exploring its history from the arrival of Columbus through colonialism to the present, offering a panoramic view of this complex region.
-
Empires of Islam in Renaissance Historical Thought
By Margaret MESERVEW. J. Fischel , “ A New Latin Source on Tamerlane's Conquest of Damascus , 1400/01 ( B. de Mignanelli's Vita Tamerlani ... Adam was in Rome in 1402 but did not return to England , and to the writing of his chronicle , until about 1411 ...
-
Rogue Empires: Contracts and Conmen in Europe's Scramble for Africa
By Steven PressSteven Press follows a paper trail of questionable contracts to discover the confidence men who exploited a loophole in international law to assert sovereignty over lands, and whose actions touched off the Scramble for Africa.
-
Empires in the Mountains: French and Indian War Campaigns and Forts in the Lake Champlain, Lake George, and Hudson River...
By Russell Paul Bellico"The French and Indian War (1754-1763), the North American theater of the Seven Years' War, would change the map of the continent and set the stage for the American Revolution.
-
Echoes and Empires
By Morgan RhodesFrom the New York Times bestselling author of the Falling Kingdoms series comes the first book in a brand-new duology about forbidden magic and dangerous secrets, for readers of Victoria Aveyard and Margaret Rogerson.
-
Cloud Empires: How Digital Platforms Are Overtaking the State and How We Can Regain Control
By Vili LehdonvirtaLehdonvirta tells the stories of pioneers who helped create—or resist—the new social order established by digital platform companies.
-
Accidental Empires
By Robert X. CringelyAccidental Empires is the trenchant, vastly readable history of that industry, focusing as much on the astoundingly odd personalities at its core--Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mitch Kapor, etc. and the hacker culture they spawned as it does on ...
-
Islamic Empires: Fifteen Cities that Define a Civilization
By Justin MarozziIslamic Empires is a history of this rich and diverse civilization told through its greatest cities over fifteen centuries, from the beginnings of Islam in Mecca in the seventh century to the astonishing rise of Doha in the twenty-first.