Birth of the Leviathan

Birth of the Leviathan

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
Summary

This book presents a new theory of state-building in medieval and early modern Europe. Ertman presents a new theory to explain the variation in political regimes and in state infrastructures in pre-French Revolution Europe.

The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free US shipping over $15
  • Buying preloved emits 41% less CO2 than new
  • Millions of affordable books
  • Give your books a new home - sell them back to us!

Birth of the Leviathan by Thomas Ertman

For many years scholars have sought to explain why the European states which emerged in the period before the French Revolution developed along such different lines. Why did some become absolutist and others constitutionalist? What enabled some to develop bureaucratic administrative systems, while others remained dependent upon patrimonial practices? This book presents a new theory of state-building in medieval and early modern Europe. Ertman argues that two factors - the organisation of local government at the time of state formation and the timing of sustained geo-military competition - can explain most of the variation in political regimes and in state infrastructures found across the continent during the second half of the eighteenth century. Drawing on insights developed in historical sociology, comparative politics, and economic history, this book makes a compelling case for the value of interdisciplinary approaches to the study of political development.
' This is definitely a book for historians as well as for social scientists constituting in all a remarkable achievement' The English Historical Review
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780521484275
ISBN 10 0521484278
Title Birth of the Leviathan
Author Thomas Ertman
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Year published 1997-01-13
Number of pages 380
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable