Overview

In his new book John A. Hall traces the interactions between nations, states and empires in the making of the modern world.  It is commonly assumed that nation states succeeded and replaced empires, relegating empires to the past: Hall argues that this is not the case. Empires have continued alongside nation states, shadowing them and overseeing them in the industrial era. The two world wars were imperial wars, rather than wars between nation states. Even after rapid decolonization in the 1950s and 1960s, empires persisted in the USA and the USSR. Furthermore, empires are not finished: the USA retains enormous power, while Russia and China increasingly show imperial dispositions. Empires and nation states do not exist in separate compartments – rather, they often overlap. Consider the USA – both strongly nationalist and the greatest empire in the history of the world. This highly original book will be essential reading for students and scholars in sociology and politics and for anyone interested in the political forces that have shaped, and continue to shape, the modern world.

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9781509563258

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Reviews

"""In this beautifully written and powerfully argued book John A. Hall shows why historical sociology is central for understanding the contemporary world. In this succinct, yet wide-ranging, theoretically sophisticated and empirically very rich analysis, Hall dismantles the conventional views of nations, states and empires. This is a marvellous book that will last."" Siniša Malešević, University College, Dublin, and CNAM, Paris ""While much theorization assumes an underpinning transition from empires through nationalism to nation states, Hall brilliantly and incisively argues their interactional complexities. In this clear-eyed appraisal of the historical canvas, empires remain a firmament of our geopolitical order. This book makes a statement."" Liliana Riga, University of Edinburgh"

Author Information

John A. Hall is Emeritus James McGill Professor of Sociology at McGill University.

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