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12 - A historical, not comparative, method: breakthroughs and limitations in the theory and methodology of Michael Mann's analysis of power

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

By
Jack A. Goldstone
Edited by
John A. Hall  and
Ralph Schroeder
Jack A. Goldstone
Affiliation:
Professor of Public Policy George Mason University
John A. Hall
Affiliation:
McGill University, Montréal
Ralph Schroeder
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

Michael Mann's work ranges over such a vast array of periods and places – the prestate peoples of prehistory in the Old and New World; the ancient empires of Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Athens, Hellas, Rome; the varied states of Europe from the Middle Ages to the present; and excursions into India, China and the lands of Islam – that one's first reaction to my title might be: how could anyone claim that Mann's method is not comparative? Let me consult an expert who should know: Michael Mann. On p. 503 of the Sources of Social Power, Volume I (1986), he says: ‘Historical, not comparative, sociology has been my principal method.’ My purpose in this chapter is to explore the implications of this statement. I believe that this approach has allowed Mann to make several major breakthroughs in our understanding of states, their emergence and their development. For this, we will always be in his debt. At the same time, I wish to suggest that the limitations imposed by this choice have also led to problems in his theory of the emergence of the modern world.

Breakthroughs Mann's theory of state formation and development

Mann's theory of state formation and development offers some of the most striking and significant advances since Weber. This advance does not lie in his four-fold typology of power, the now famous IEMP quartet: ideological, economic, military and political power.

Type
Chapter
Information
An Anatomy of Power
The Social Theory of Michael Mann
 , pp. 263 - 282
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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