War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 12
1 A Dynamic Theory of World Politics......Page 17
1.1 Cases......Page 18
1.2 Method......Page 23
1.3 Building Blocks for a Dynamic Theory of World Politics......Page 26
Strategic Interaction of Strategies and Mechanisms......Page 27
Heterogeneous Motivations of Human Behaviors......Page 29
Integration of Agency and Structure......Page 35
The Logic of Balancing in International Politics......Page 40
The Logic of Domination in International Politics......Page 42
Dynamics of International Politics in Ancient China (656–221 BC) and Early Modern Europe (AD 1495–1815)......Page 51
Rethinking the Hobbesian Metaphor for International Politics......Page 53
1.5 Dynamics of State Formation......Page 54
The Logic of Balancing in State Formation......Page 57
The Logic of Domination in State Formation......Page 58
Dynamics of State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe......Page 63
1.6 Self-Strengthening Reforms Versus Self-Weakening Expedients: Other Things Are Rarely Equal in Comparative History......Page 66
1.7 “Alternative” Explanations......Page 68
2 The Dynamics of International Politics in Ancient China......Page 70
2.1 Early Triumph of the Logic of Balancing (656–284 bc)......Page 71
2.2 Qin’s Rise from Relative Weakness to Universal Domination (356–221 bc)......Page 80
2.3 Overcoming the Balance of Power......Page 83
Why Did the Balance-of-Power Strategy Fail-and Why Did the Divide-and-Conquer Strategy Work?......Page 90
Improving National Strength......Page 95
Minimizing Emulation by Other States......Page 100
Reducing the Costs of War......Page 103
Overcoming Offensive Disadvantages and Seizing Offensive Advantages......Page 106
Consolidating Conquered Territories and Maximizing Extraction......Page 113
2.5 Launching the Final Wars of Unification......Page 115
2.6 Why Did Qin Develop Cleverer Strategies?......Page 117
2.7 Conclusion......Page 123
3 Rethinking the Dynamics of International Politics in Early Modern Europe......Page 125
3.1 The Balance of Relative Weaknesses Between Self-Weakened France and the Self-Weakened Habsburg Empire (1495–1659)......Page 127
3.2 Competition Between Self-Weakened France and Self-Strengthened Britain (1661–1715)......Page 136
3.3 Near Domination by the Self-Strengthened Revolutionary and Napoleonic France......Page 143
Was the Balance-of-Power Mechanism Stronger in Early Modern Europe?......Page 152
3.4 Initial and Environmental Conditions......Page 155
3.5 Divergent Models of Self-Strengthening Reforms in Early Modern Europe......Page 158
3.6 Comparing the Intensity of War......Page 165
3.7 Was the Ancient Chinese System More Hobbesian and Machiavellian Than the Early Modern European System?......Page 172
Offense-Defense Balance and Ease of Conquest......Page 175
Cultural Homogeneity and Ease of Conquest......Page 179
3.9 Conclusion......Page 182
4 The Dynamics of State Formation and Transformation......Page 184
4.1 The Logic of Balancing in State Formation......Page 186
4.2 Self-Strengthening Reforms, State Formation, and the Coercive State in Ancient China......Page 194
4.3 Self-Weakening Expedients, State Deformation, and the Constitutional State in Early Modern Europe......Page 206
Relations Between Rulers and Ruled in the Prior Feudal Era......Page 211
Civil Wars and Power Struggles......Page 221
Uniformity Versus Diversity......Page 223
"Strong" State Versus "Weak" State......Page 230
4.6 Collapse of the Qin Dynasty and Transformation of State-Society Relations in the Han Dynasty......Page 232
5.1 Rejoining the Dynamics of International Politics and State Formation......Page 240
5.2 Transformation of World Politics in the Post-Napoleonic Era......Page 247
Appendix I: List of Wars Involving Great Powers in Early Modern Europe (1495–1815)......Page 255
Appendix II: List of Wars Involving Great Powers in Ancient China (656–221 bc)......Page 258
Inclusion and Exclusion of Wars Involving Great Powers......Page 265
Delineation of Wars Involving Great Powers......Page 268
Identification of Great Powers......Page 269
Participation......Page 271
Identification of Initiators, Winners, and Losers......Page 272
Appendix IV: Chronology of Periods of Unification and Division in Chinese History......Page 273
Bibliography......Page 275
Index......Page 301