num_pages: 294
description: There is a common belief that the system of sovereign territorial states and the roots of liberal democracy are unique to European civilization and alien to non-Western cultures. The view has generated popular cynicism about democracy promotion in general and China's prospect for democratization in particular. This book demonstrates that China in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (656-221 BC) consisted of a system of sovereign territorial states similar to Europe in the early modern period. It examines why China and Europe shared similar processes but experienced opposite outcomes.
language: English
title: War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe
titlecomplete: War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe
genres: China, History, International Relations, War, Nonfiction, Political Science, Politics
ratings_count: 37
awards: awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Edgar S. Furniss Book Award
publisher: Cambridge University Press