The Sources of Social Power: Volume 2, The Rise of Classes and Nation-States, 1760-1914

Hardback

Main Details

Title The Sources of Social Power: Volume 2, The Rise of Classes and Nation-States, 1760-1914
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Michael Mann
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:839
Dimensions(mm): Height 235,Width 155
ISBN/Barcode 9781107031180
ClassificationsDewey:303.3
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Edition 2nd Revised edition
Illustrations 36 Tables, unspecified; 5 Halftones, unspecified

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 24 September 2012
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Distinguishing four sources of power in human societies - ideological, economic, military and political - The Sources of Social Power traces their interrelations throughout human history. This second volume deals with power relations between the Industrial Revolution and the First World War, focusing on France, Great Britain, Hapsburg Austria, Prussia/Germany and the United States. Based on considerable empirical research, it provides original theories of the rise of nations and nationalism, of class conflict, of the modern state and of modern militarism. While not afraid to generalize, it also stresses social and historical complexity. Michael Mann sees human society as 'a patterned mess' and attempts to provide a sociological theory appropriate to this, his final chapter giving an original explanation of the causes of the First World War. First published in 1993, this new edition of Volume 2 includes a new preface by the author examining the impact and legacy of the work.

Author Biography

Michael Mann is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Power in the 21st Century: Conversations with John Hall (2011), Incoherent Empire (2003) and Fascists (Cambridge, 2004). His book The Dark Side of Democracy (Cambridge, 2004) was awarded the Barrington Moore Award of the American Sociological Association for the best book in comparative and historical sociology in 2006.

Reviews

Reviews of the first edition: 'The ambition of the conception is, against all conventional expectations, matched by the clarity and grandeur of the execution.' The Times Literary Supplement 'This work offers a treasure trove of facts and interpretations that will be useful to readers in many disciplines ...' Choice 'This is a book in the grand Weberian tradition. Mann's conceptual skills and historical grasp are virtuosic and the scope of his enterprise is truly impressive.' Politics and Society '... a unique brand of historical sociology that is refreshingly iconoclastic, remarkably complex, and breathtakingly ambitious ... a must-read for comparative and historical sociologists.' Contemporary Sociology