John A Hall is Emeritus James McGill Professor of Sociology at McGill University and the author of many books including Powers and Liberties: The Causes and Consequences of the Rise of the West (Blackwell, 1985), Liberalism: Politics, Ideology and the Market (Paladin, 1988), Coercion and Consent: Studies on the Modern State (Polity, 1994) and International Orders:Essays, Interpretations and Rejoinders (Polity, 1996).

• Acknowledgements. Introduction.1. Capstones and Organisms.2. A Curious Stability.3. An Absolute Collapse.4. State Power and Patterns of Late Development (written with Ding-Xin Zhao).5. Consolidations of Democracy.6. Nationalisms, Classified and Explained.7. Will the United States Decline as Britain did?.8. The Weary Titan? Arms and Empire, 1870-1913.Conclusion: The State of Post-Modernism.Index.