Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 - 1992 (Studies in Social Discontinuity) [Paperback]

Charles Tilly (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1557863687 | ISBN-13: 978-1557863683 | Publication Date: 1992 | Edition: Revised

In this pathbreaking work, now available in paperback, Charles Tilly challenges all previous formulations of state development in Europe. Specifically, Tilly charges that most available explanations fail because they do not account for the great variety of kinds of states which were viable at different stages of European history, and because they assume a unilinear path of state development resolving in today's national state.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Closely argued and thought-provoking book." Economic History Review

"Tilly's thesis is presented with great lucidity... contributed to perform a service not merely for historians, but for mankind." French History

"An important, provocative theory, with much originality and richly documented .... extremely well written." American Journal of Sociology

"This is a good and important book. It is well written, and it presents the complex history of European state formation over a time span of one thousand years in a most understandable way. With a profound knowledge of history and an amazing compository skill, Tilly takes his readers by the hand and leads them." International Review of Social History

From the Back Cover

This is at once an account and an explanation of the evolution of European states during the present millennium. The central problem addressed by the author concerns the great variety in the kinds of state that have prevailed in Europe since AD 990.

Professor Tilly shows how interactions between the wielders of power on the one hand and the manipulators of capital on the other resulted in three state formations each of which prevailed over long periods - tribute-taking empires, systems of fragmented sovereignty, and national states. he argues that to conceive European state development as a simple, unilinear process is untenable, and further that relations between the states themselves are a big factor in their formation and evolution. The final part of the book then applies these insights to the history of Third World states since 1945.

For the paperback edition the author has made minor revisions throughout and provided an additional section on the rapid changes that have recently taken place in Central and Eastern Europe.

"An Important, provocative theory, with much originality and richly documented...it is extremely well written, despite containing both theory and a wealth of empirical information. It caries substantial learning lightly."
--Michael Mann, American Journal of Sociology

"Admirable...Thoughtful and scrupulous."
--Basil Davidson, Journal of International Affairs

"Admirers of Charles Tilly's work on European history will now have even more to admire - another genuine breakthrough. ... Straightforward, enlightened, and powerful."
--Jack A. Goldstone, Contemporary Sociology

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; Revised edition (1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557863687
• ISBN-13: 978-1557863683
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A difficult but highly rewarding read, February 26, 2002

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 - 1992 (Studies in Social Discontinuity) (Paperback)

In these days of historical specialization, a comprehensive treatment of any subject is most welcome, whatever its faults. Tilly has indeed set himself a daunting task, namely to explain the development of state formation in Europe over the last millennium; specifically, he seeks to explain why a pattern of divergent state formations ultimately converged in the form of the modern nation-state. To the chagrin of social scientists, he assumes that war has always been the central object of the state; economic/political determinism is complementary but subordinate. Given that the nation-state has enjoyed the greatest military success throughout the centuries, all states have been forced either to move in that direction or cease to exist.

Tilly makes many good points. He reminds us that rulers did not operate with a specific plan of state formation in mind--they created states only in conjunction with certain of their subjects. Given geographic and temporal circumstances, rulers could only pursue increasingly costly military ventures by bargaining with power blocks within their subject population for the necessary resources--soldiers, rations, etc. Where capital was not accumulated and concentrated, the balance of power lay with landowners. Where a city had emerged with a concentration of capital, proto-capitalists held power. Where capital was unavailable, the ruler could resort to methods of coercion of his subjects. Political and economic conditions dictated the bargaining terms with which the ruler sought to win support for his military goals. Tilly argues that different combinations of coercion and capital created diverse types of states. As the demands of war increased, the power blocks which rulers depended on gained more and more advantage over them, thus winning for themselves concessions that increased their standing in the state's government. In effect, the era of bureaucratization was born. The means of capitalization and coercion were incorporated into the structure of the state, and thus was born the nation-state. Essentially, the nation-state has proven to be the best at mobilizing and fighting wars, leading lesser states to either emulate it or risk being conquered by it.

Tilly offers a somewhat simplistic argument, acknowledging the criticisms he duly expects will come. State formation is portrayed as little more than an afterthought of warmongering. The accumulation of royal concessions in time laid the foundation for permanent infrastructure. By seeking revenues and compliance from a subject population, rulers eventually found themselves having to provide for their subjects' welfare--via production, distribution, transportation, etc. In the most modern states, social spending now outweighs military spending; this has served to shorten the length of wars while greatly increasing their intensity. A major contribution of this book is its implication that social history by itself does not explain the emergence of modern states and societies. Some will find Tilly's simplistic model untenable, but I find it quite logical and compelling. His argument (and the wealth of resources on which he draws) certainly warrants serious thought on the part of the reader.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview of European State Formation, January 2, 2003

By 

Robert H. Buell (Newburgh, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 - 1992 (Studies in Social Discontinuity) (Paperback)

Charles Tilly is obviously taking on a big topic. In this book, he covers 1000 years of state formation in Europe. His primary interest is to determine why states have converged from divergent state forms (city states, federations, and empires) to a single form (the national state). What I enjoyed about this book is that, unlike so many theories of international politics, it does not take the modern state system for granted but shows that it is the product of a complex historical process. Central to the process is the imperative of the state of extend its influence and to protect itself from rival states. Tilly shows that the growth in the capital intensity and complexity of warfare has led over time to a strengthen of the state and an expansion of its role. This is a plausible theory which has much to commend it. I would have liked to have seen two more issues addressed in the book ...

1) What role did class struggle have in the formation of states?
This concerned is hinted at but not explored. If wars have
become increasingly expensive how have states been able to
impose the high cost of war on their citizens? Does this not
also mean increased exploitation and intensified struggle?

2) How have nuclear weapons effected the long term viability of
national states?

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Marxist in the Least, September 24, 2010

By 

Adigine - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 - 1992 (Studies in Social Discontinuity) (Paperback)

I first want to direct people's attention to the very thoughtful comments on John Wolfsberger's review. I'm afraid that his ridiculous 3-sentence review will have undue influence purely because it is the only negative review, and thus continues to be displayed up front as the 'most helpful' critical review by default, even though so far 0 out of 26 people have found it helpful. He clearly never got past the introduction (or possibly the title).

Tilly essentially provides us with a historical thought experiment in which he seeks to determine how much of the historical variation in the development of European states can be elucidated through an exploration of city/state interaction and the accumulation (total volume) and consolidation (distribution) of capital and the material means of violence. This might sound like a historical-materialist analysis to some, but Tilly never focuses on class conflict as a driving force of history. Again, he's simply interested in bringing out interesting relationships between capital and coercion, such as the relationship between capitalist expansion and the ability to raise capital-intensive professional armies (as only an industrialized economy can facilitate) vs. mercenary or peasant armies, setting in motion a cycle of economic and militaristic expansion that made the industrialized nation-state the dominant form of state of the modern era.

In the process, he closely examines cities as crucial hubs of the flows of capital and the consolidation of military might in the hands of a centralized state. Combining all these factors, he does an excellent job of highlighting some of the causes of the different patterns of development in the different regions of Europe - from the Italian city-states of the Renaissance, who rose and fell with the fate of militarized mercantilism in luxury goods, to the different fates of Eastern and Western Europe once a continental division of labor set it - dynastic seats of power in Eastern Europe, in which economic diversity and social pluralism were stunted by the dominance of large-scale landowners and capitalist agriculture, vs. the development of cottage industry and later factory organization in Western Europe. Pretty straightforward history, actually, and Tilly never claims to be making any startling new discoveries, so much as teasing out the full implications of such a theoretical framework. As a big-level thinker, he clearly enjoyed writing the book, which also makes it an enjoyable, if challenging read.