The contemporary organization of global violence is neither timeless nor natural, argues Janice Thomson. It is distinctively modern. In this book she examines how the present arrangement of the world into violence-monopolizing sovereign states evolved over the six preceding centuries.
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Editorial Reviews
From Scientific American
Strike[s] at the heart of [the] assumption that a monopoly on violence is the hallmark of the state, ... [Thomson] is correct when she advises us that `state' and `sovereignty' are more mutable concepts than we might acknowledge or even admit. [A] major contribution to our understanding of international affairs and to the history of state building.
From The New Yorker
Thomson's book is well worth reading. It is historically rich and theoretically erudite.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thomson's books is an elegant evaluation of state-building,
By jemf@ntr.net (Albany, New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mercenaries, Pirates, and Sovereigns (Paperback)
Mercenaries, Pirates, and Soverignity offers a very comprehensive analysis regarding the evolution of state-building. Thomson believes that modern nation-states achieved their virtual monopoly on the right and means to launch cross-border military action in the ninteenth century."In the six centuries leading up to 1900, global violence was democratized, marketized, and internationalized." (p.3). This citation establishes as solid base for her hypothesis: "the 'disarming' of nonstate transnational actors from heteronomy to sovereignty and transform states into nation states."(p.3). Janice Thomson's empirical evaluation is excellent--theoretically informed, elegant, and accurate. Without any doubt this is an important book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Critical backgrounder on mercenaries then and today,
By MountainRunner "Matt Armstrong" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mercenaries, Pirates, and Sovereigns (Paperback)
If you only read a single book on the history of mercenaries, this is your book. Thin, a quick read, it will give you more insight and awareness into the modern era than any other book. A must have for anyone truly interested in historical or modern mercenaries.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Provocative, insightful, and brutal to boot,
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This review is from: Mercenaries, Pirates, and Sovereigns (Paperback)
Very comprehensive, this book is an attempt by the author to convince us that the nearly exclusive rights to violence contemporary states enjoy is a very new concept. Furthermore, he offers reasonable explanations as to why the change occurred.
My only criticism is that the first chapter is a tad bombastic, as the author clearly enjoys using high brow political science jargon to elucidate his thesis...nonetheless, as soon as you get into the actual history, you'll be hooked.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Weberians conventionally define the state, in part, in terms of its control over coercion. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
nonstate realms, nonstate violence, organized piracy, extraterritorial violence, foreign military service, mercantile companies, pirate trade, neutrality laws, filibustering expeditions, state rulers, coercive capabilities, interstate politics, nonstate actors, coercive resources, mercantile company, individual violence, world polity, modern state system Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, East India Company, Royal Navy, New York, Hudson's Bay Company, East Florida, Great Britain, New Orleans, Saudi Arabia, Declaration of Paris, Latin American, Central American, San Francisco, North West Company, General Wilkinson, North American, Dutch West India Company, English Crown, Napoleonic Wars, Spanish Civil War, United Provinces, Vietnam War, Crimean War, East Indies, Hudson Bay New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Weberians conventionally define the state, in part, in terms of its control over coercion. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
nonstate realms, nonstate violence, organized piracy, extraterritorial violence, foreign military service, mercantile companies, pirate trade, neutrality laws, filibustering expeditions, state rulers, coercive capabilities, interstate politics, nonstate actors, coercive resources, mercantile company, individual violence, world polity, modern state system Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, East India Company, Royal Navy, New York, Hudson's Bay Company, East Florida, Great Britain, New Orleans, Saudi Arabia, Declaration of Paris, Latin American, Central American, San Francisco, North West Company, General Wilkinson, North American, Dutch West India Company, English Crown, Napoleonic Wars, Spanish Civil War, United Provinces, Vietnam War, Crimean War, East Indies, Hudson Bay New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 88
books:
See all 88 books this book cites
71
books
cite this book:
See all 71 books citing this book
- Global Changes and Theoretical Challenges: Approaches to World Politics for the 1990's (Issues in World Politics) by Ernst-Otto Czempiel on 6 pages
- The English East India Company : The Study of an Early Joint Stock Company, 1600-1640 : The Emergence of International Business, 1200-1800 by K. N. Chaudhuri on 4 pages
- The Hessian Mercenary State: Ideas, Institutions, and Reform under Frederick II, 1760-1785 by Charles W. Ingrao in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Company of Adventurers by Peter C. Newman in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Bringing the State Back In by Peter B. Evans in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
See all 88 books this book cites
- The Moral Purpose of the State by Christian Reus-Smit on 6 pages
- Ruling the Waves: From the Compass to the Internet, a History of Business and Politics along the Technological Frontier by Debora L. Spar on 4 pages
- Secret Trades, Porous Borders: Smuggling and States Along a Southeast Asian Frontier, 1865-1915 (Yale Historical Publications Series) by Professor Eric Tagliacozzo on page 21, and Back Matter
- Violence and Politics : Globalization's Paradox (New Political Science Reader) by Kenton Worcester on page 30, and page 241
- The Social Construction of Man, the State and War: Identity, Conflict, and Violence in Former Yugoslavia by Franke Wilmer in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 71 books citing this book
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