Global Powers: Michael Mann’s Anatomy of the Twentieth Century and Beyond

345 Pages·2016·2.45 MB·English

by  Ralph Schroeder

Global Powers
MichaelMannisacentralfigureincontemporarysociology.Hisanalysis
ofhowthefoursourcesofsocialpower–ideological,economic,military
andpolitical–haveshapedworldhistoryisamajorcontributiontosocial
science. In this volume, distinguished scholars assess Mann’s work,
focusingonhisfinaltwovolumesofSourcesofSocialPowerwhichdeal
withthetwentiethandtwenty-firstcenturies.Theytacklesomeofthe
majorthemesinMann’sworkincludingglobalization,Americanempire
and the recent financial crisis. They also question his stance on some
perennial topics in sociology: is the trajectory of American society
‘exceptional’? How is military power different from other sources of
power?Whatistheroleofagencyandideologyinsocialchange?How
do the relations between states affect domestic social development?
GlobalPowerswillprovokedebateamongallthoseinterestedinunder-
standingthenextphaseofglobalization.
Ralph Schroeder is a professor at the Oxford Internet Institute,
UniversityofOxford.

Global Powers
Michael Mann’s Anatomy of the Twentieth
Century and Beyond
Edited by Ralph Schroeder
UniversityofOxford
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©CambridgeUniversityPress2016
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Firstpublished2016
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Schroeder,Ralph,editor.
Globalpowers:MichaelMann’sanatomyofthetwentiethcenturyandbeyond/
editedbyRalphSchroeder.
Cambridge;NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,2016.|Includesindex.
LCCN2015041406|ISBN9781107086142(hardback)|
ISBN9781107450561(paperback)
LCSH:Mann,Michael,1942–Sourcesofpower.|Socialhistory.|Historical
sociology. | Power (Social sciences) | Political sociology. | Sociology –
Philosophy.
LCCHN8.M2842016|DDC306.09–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttp://lccn.loc.gov/2015041406
ISBN978-1-107-08614-2Hardback
ISBN978-1-107-45056-1Paperback
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Contents
Listofcontributors pagevii
1 Introduction
ralph schroeder 1
PartI Theoryandhistory 9
2 Theevolutionofthesourcesofsocialpower,andsome
extensions
risto heiskala 11
3 Thereturnofbighistoricalsociology
dennis smith 38
4 Tamingthechief:fromevolutionarytheorytopolitical
ideology
georgiderluguian,timothyearle,andwillreno 62
PartII Political,economic,militaryandideological
questions 87
5 Onpoliticaldecency
john a. hall 89
6 Mannonneoliberalism
monica prasad 107
7 Nationalismandmilitarypowerinthetwentiethcentury
andbeyond
sinisˇa malesˇevic´ 117
8 History,historicalsociologyandtheproblemofideology:
thecasesofcommunismandneoliberalism
david priestland 143
v
vi Contents
9 Mann’sglobalizationsandtheirlimits
ralph schroeder 164
PartIII Americanexceptionalism 183
10 Ethnicity,classandthesocialsourcesofUS
exceptionalism
liliana riga 185
11 Mann’sbigpictureofUSsocialcitizenship:“Roadto
WorldEmpire”withBobHope
edwin amenta 209
PartIV Empire 227
12 Mannandtheproblemofempire
john darwin 229
13 HegemonicpowerduringtheColdWarandbeyond
odd arne westad 246
14 Thelastempire?Americanpower,liberalism,andworld
order
g. john ikenberry 256
PartV Response 279
15 Responsetothecritics
michael mann 281
Index 323
Contributors
edwin amenta is Professor of Sociology and Political Science at the
UniversityofCalifornia,Irvine.
john darwin is Professor of Global and Imperial History at the
UniversityofOxford.
georgiderluguianisProfessorofSocialResearchandPublicPolicyat
NewYorkUniversity,AbuDhabi.
timothy earle is Professor Emeritus in the Department of
AnthropologyatNorthwesternUniversity.
john a. hall is the James McGill Professor of Comparative Historical
SociologyatMcGillUniversity.
risto heiskala isProfessorandDirectoroftheInstituteforAdvanced
SocialResearchattheUniversityofTampere.
g. john ikenberry is the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and
InternationalAffairsatPrincetonUniversity.
sinisˇa malesˇevic´ is Professor of Sociology at University College
Dublin.
michaelmann isProfessorofSociologyattheUniversityofCalifornia,
LosAngeles.
monica prasad is Professor of Sociology and Faculty Fellow at the
InstituteforPolicyResearchatNorthwesternUniversity.
david priestland is Professor of Modern History at the University of
Oxford.
will reno is Professor in the Department of Political Science at
NorthwesternUniversity.
liliana riga is Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the
UniversityofEdinburgh.
vii
viii Listofcontributors
ralph schroeder is Professor at the Oxford Internet Institute at the
UniversityofOxford.
dennis smith is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of
Loughborough.
oddarnewestadisSTLeeProfessorofUS–AsianRelationsatHarvard
University.
1 Introduction
Ralph Schroeder
This volume brings together critical assessments of Michael Mann’s
sociology.ItfocusesonVolumes3and4ofhismajorwork,TheSources
ofSocialPower,whichcoverthelatenineteenthcenturytothepresentday.
It is a follow-up to an earlier volume, An Anatomy of Power: The Social
TheoryofMichaelMann(co-editedbyJohnA.Hall;2006),whichwasput
togetherbeforeMann’sVolumes3and4hadbeenpublished.Theearlier
volume was therefore in a sense premature. In this one, it has become
possibletotakestockofMann’s‘Sources’,thoughheisnowworkingona
fifth volume where he will reflect on his project. But apart from these
further reflections, we can now examine his project as a whole and his
analysisofourpresentconditioninparticular.
Mann’s work does not need much by way of introduction. There are
already several overviews of his work. Smith’s essay (Chapter 3) puts
Mann’s ‘Sources’ into the context of similar macro-historical projects,
and I have also provided an introduction to his sociology (Schroeder
2007). Further, there are essays on Mann’s background (Hall 2006)
andinterviewswithMannwhichaddsomeofthebiographicalandaca-
demic contexts to his work (Mann 2011; and the video and text of an
interview with Alan McFarlane at www.alanmacfarlane.com/ancestors/
mann.htm; last accessed 20 October 2014). Mann (2013) has himself
describedhow‘Sources’developedoverthecourseoftime.Chapter2,by
Heiskala, also gives an excellent account of how Mann’s project has
progressed from the first volume to the fourth. Here, it can be added
thatMannreflectsonthefactthat,unlikeinVolume2,wherehepulled
togethermuchdata,especiallyaboutchangesinstateexpenditure,thisis
notneededforhistwovolumesaboutthetwentiethcentury:thereissuch
anabundanceofdataaswegetclosertothepresentthatthemaintaskis
rathertomakesenseofthesedata.
Variousthemesandcriticismsemergedinthe‘Anatomy’volumethat
are worth briefly recapitulating here by way of setting the scene for
this volume. One is the relative neglect of ideological power. In the
‘Anatomy’ volume, this criticism was made in relation to early
1