The Sovereign State and its Competitors - An Analysis of System Change

Zusatztext "Spruyt ... shows that sovereign states of Europe emerged from the decline of feudalism as urban units gained freedom and formed leagues.... He also puts into perspective the European Union that today's nation-states are attempting to put together.... A significant contribution to political science and to European history." Informationen zum Autor Hendrik Spruyt Klappentext "Spruyt takes on a theme that is ... of central import to political science.... A convincing demonstration that there was nothing inevitable about the triumph of the [present] form of the state." --John A. Hall, McGill University Zusammenfassung Examining the competing institutions that arose during the decline of feudalism (among them urban leagues, independent communes, city states, and sovereign monarchies), this book disposes of the familiar claim that the superior size and war-making ability of the sovereign nation-state made it the natural successor to the feudal system. Inhaltsverzeichnis List of Maps and TablesPrefaceIntroduction3Pt. IContingency, Choice, and Constraint9Ch. 1Structural Change in International Relations11Ch. 2Organizational Variation and Selection in the International System22Ch. 3Modes of Nonterritorial Organization: Feudalism, the Church, and the Holy Roman Empire34Pt. IIThe Emergence of New Modes of Organization59Ch. 4The Economic Renaissance of the Late Middle Ages61Ch. 5The Rise of the Sovereign, Territorial State in Capetian France77Ch. 6The Fragmentation of the German Empire and the Rise of the Hanseatic League109Ch. 7The Development of the Italian City-states130Pt. IIICompetition, Mutual Empowerment, and Choice: The Advantages of Sovereign Territoriality151Ch. 8The Victory of the Sovereign State153Pt. IVConclusion181Ch. 9Character, Tempo, and Prospects for Change in the International System183Notes195Bibliography265Index285

Product details

• Authors: Hendrick Spruyt, Hendrik Spruyt, Spruyt Hendrik
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 22.07.1996
• EAN: 9780691029108
• ISBN: 978-0-691-02910-8
• No. of pages: 302
• Dimensions: 155 mm x 235 mm x 20 mm
• Series: Princeton Studies in International History and Politics; Princeton Studies in Internati; Princeton Studies in International History and Politics; Princeton Studies in Internati
• Subjects: Non-fiction book; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Constitutions, POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory, Political science & theory, Political science and theory, Constitution: government & the state, Constitution: government and the state