Global Powers
Michael Mann's Anatomy of the Twentieth Century and Beyond

A critical assessment of Michael Mann's powerful work and ideas on contemporary globalisation.

Ralph Schroeder (Edited by)

9781107450561, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 18 April 2016

344 pages, 1 b/w illus. 2 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.5 kg

Michael Mann is a central figure in contemporary sociology. His analysis of how the four sources of social power - ideological, economic, military and political - have shaped world history is a major contribution to social science. In this volume, distinguished scholars assess Mann's work, focusing on his final two volumes of Sources of Social Power, which deal with the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. They tackle some of the major themes in Mann's work including globalisation, American empire and the recent financial crisis. They also question his stance on some perennial topics in sociology: is the trajectory of American society 'exceptional'? How is military power different from the other sources of power? What is the role of agency and ideology in social change? How do the relations between states affect domestic social development? Global Powers will provoke debate among all those interested in understanding the next phase of globalisation.

1. Introduction Ralph Schroeder
Part I. Theory and History: 2. The evolution of the sources of social power and some extensions Risto Heiskala
3. The return of big historical sociology Dennis Smith
4. Taming the chief: from evolutionary theory to political ideology Georgi Derluguian, Timothy Earle and Will Reno
Part II. Political, Economic, Military and Ideological Questions: 5. On political decency John A. Hall
6. Mann on neoliberalism Monica Prasad
7. Nationalism and military power in the twentieth century and beyond Siniša Maleševi?
8. History, historical sociology and the problem of ideology: the cases of communism and neoliberalism David Priestland
9. Mann's globalisations and their limits Ralph Schroeder
Part III. American Exceptionalism: 10. Ethnicity, class and the social sources of US exceptionalism Liliana Riga
11. Mann's big picture of US social citizenship: 'Road to World Empire' with Bob Hope Edwin Amenta
Part IV. Empire: 12. Mann and the problem of Empire John Darwin
13. Hegemonic power during the Cold War and beyond Odd Arne Westad
14. The last Empire? American power, liberalism and world order G. John Ikenberry
Part V. Response: 15. Response to the critics Michael Mann.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Comparative politics [JPB], Sociology [JHB]