Supplanting Empires

Reviews / Votes

Supplanting Empires: Power Transitions Across Human History offers a unique breadth of coverage as the author and team of researchers delve into a wide array of historical and more contemporary cases of successful power transitions. Their focus on the sociological and ideational dimensions of these transitions also adds greater depth and nuance to what often has been ahistorical and apolitical literature on 'war and change'. -- Alistair Edgar, Wilfrid Laurier University Supplanting Empires: Power Transitions Across Human History is an instant classic. It is grounded in history, insightful, and empirically relevant as it speaks directly to the core assumptions of American policymakers; namely their pessimistic fear that the expansion of a China-led BRICS, the growing de-dollarization of the global economy, and an emerging alternate world order could potentially displace the American post-war hegemonic liberal order. The book provides evidence that stands in direct contradiction to these fears showing instead that power transitions have generally been orderly, preserve existing institutions and norms, and take place under conditions of relatively little violence. More importantly, because Supplanting Empires also invalidates the core theoretical assumption of power transition theory that has for decades shaped not only the study of international relations but also the contemporary belief system and attitudes of American decision-makers towards China, will make it one of the most influential and must-read books for years to come. -- Horace Bartilow Understanding power transitions in world politics has assumed heightened importance as America's star fades and China's rises. The existing literature-and our ritualised debates-is marred, however, by Eurocentrism, foreshortened time horizons, and a tendency to address 'power challenges' not 'power transitions'. Supplanting Empires: Power Transitions Across Human History seeks to overcome all three of these pathologies, and it yields powerful, counterintuitive insights. Studying diverse cases from global history, the contributors find that genuine power transitions are commonly peaceful and involve the reproduction or renovation of existing order, not their wholesale transformation. A fascinating revisionist history with an important contemporary message. -- Christian Rues-Smit, University of Melbourne