The central issue in civilizational analysis, forever associated with the name of Max Weber, has been that of `the Rise of the West'. Powerful and interesting work by contemporary scholars suggests that the very idea of such an issue is an example of misconceived Eurocentrism - in large part because Europe was no more modern than Asian societies until the advent of industrialization. This article assesses the strengths and weaknesses of this new school of thought.
Crone, P. (1988) Pre-Industrial Societies.Oxford: Blackwell.
2.
Epstein, S. R. (2000) Freedom and Growth: The Rise of States and Markets in Europe, 1300-1750.London: Routledge.
3.
Gellner, Ernest (1988a) Plough, Sword and Book: The Structure of Human History.London: Collins Harvill.
4.
Gellner, Ernest (1988b) `Introduction', in J. Baechler, J. A. Hall and M. Mann (eds) Europe and the Rise of Capitalism.Oxford: Blackwell.
5.
Goldstone, Jack (1998) `The Problem of the “Early Modern” World', Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient41: 289-294.
6.
Goldstone, Jack (2000) `The Rise of the West - or Not? A Revision to Socio-Economic History', Sociological Theory18: 175-194.
7.
Goldstone, Jack (forthcoming) `Europe's Peculiar Path: Would the Modern World be “Modern” if William III's Invasion of England in 1688 had Failed?', in N. Lebow, P. Tetlock and G. Parker (eds) Counterfactuals in History.Columbia: Columbia University Press.
8.
Hall, John A. (1985) Powers and Liberties: The Causes and Consequences of the Rise of the West.Oxford: Blackwell.
9.
Hall, John A. (1996) `How Homogeneous Need We Be? Reflections on Nationalism and Liberty', Sociology30: 163-171.
10.
Jones, Eric (1981) The European Miracle.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
11.
Laitin, David (1992) Language Repertoires and State Construction in Africa.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
12.
Laitin, David (1998) Identity in Formation: The Russian Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad.Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
13.
Lieven, Dominic (2000) Empire: The Russian Empire and its Rivals.London: John Murray.
14.
Mann, Michael (1986) The Sources of Social Power. Volume One: From the Beginning to 1760 AD.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
15.
Mann, Michael (1999) `The Dark Side of Democracy', New Left Review235: 18-45.
16.
Pomeranz, Kenneth (2000) The Great Divergence: China, Europe and the Making of the Modern World.Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
17.
Sen, Gautam (1984) The Military Origins of Industrialization and International Trade Rivalry.London: Frances Pinter.
18.
Taylor, Charles (forthcoming) `Democratic Exclusion (and Its Remedies?)', in R. Bhargawa, A. K. Bagchi and R. Sudarshan (eds) Multiculturalism, Liberalism and Democracy, pp. 138-163. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
19.
Wong, R. Bin (1997) China Transformed: Historical Change and the Limits of European Experience.Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
20.
Wrigley, E. A. (1988) Continuity, Chance and Change: The Character of the Industrial Revolution in England.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
