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Empires have been the commonest form of political organization for most of recorded history. How should we best understand them? What are their principles and how do they differ from other political forms, such as the nation-state? What sort of relations between rulers and ruled do they express? Do they, as many have held, follow a particular course of "rise, decline, and fall"? How and why do empires end, and with what consequences? Is the era of empire over? This book explores these questions through a fascinating analysis of the major empires of world history and the present. It pays attention not just to the modern overseas empires of the Europeans, but also to the ancient empires of the Middle East and Mediterranean, the Islamic empires of the Arabs, Mughals, and Ottomans, and the two-thousand-year Chinese Empire. As Kumar shows, understanding empires helps us understand better the politics of our own times.

"Transformations of War: Perspectives from International Political Sociology" published on by Oxford University Press.

Cover -- Contents -- Series Note -- Preface -- Acknowledgement -- Introduction -- PART I - The Conceptual Aspects -- 1 - Caste and Class: Some Aspects of Continuity and Change -- 2 - Hierarchical and Competitive Inequality -- 3 - Sociological Issues in the Analysis of Social Movements in Independent India -- 4 - Movements of Protest, Construction of Centres and State Formation in India and Europe -- 5 - The Indian State in Crisis? Nationalism and Nation-Building -- PART II - Institutions -- 6 - The Panchayati Raj and the Democratic Polity -- 7 - Trade Unions in India-A Sociological Approach -- 8 - Civil Society, State and Democracy: Lessons for India -- 9 - Democracy and Leadership: The Gendered Voice in Politics -- PART III - Processes -- 10 - Meaning and Process of Tribal Integration in a Democratic Society -- 11 - Landholding Pattern and Power Relations in a Mysore Village -- 12 - The Mid-Term Poll in a Village in Outer Delhi Constituency -- 13 - Nation-State and Open Systems of Stratification: Making Room for the 'Politics of Commitment' -- 14 - Understanding the Modern Dalit Movement -- 15 - Assertive Identities, Indigeneity, and the Politics of Recognition as a Tribe: The Bhutias, the Lepchas and the Limbus of Sikkim -- PART IV - Methodological Issues -- 16 - Relevance of the Marxist Approach to the Study ofIndian Society -- 17 - Co-operatives and Caste in Maharashtra: A Case Study -- 18 - Power Elite in Rural India: Some Questions and Clarifications -- 19 Education and the Emerging Patterns of Political Orientations: A Sociological Analysis -- 20 - Studying Communal Riots in India: Some Methodological Issues -- Index -- About the Editor and Contributors.

The World of Political Science - New volumes The book traces the disciplinary development of political sociology and the transdisciplinary research into the overlapping issues involving politics and society. The contributions cover overviews of the history, methodological and theoretical development of this academic discipline. Successes as well as failures in past, unexplored areas and salient issues in ongoing research are also highlighted. From the Contents: Subrata K. Mitra and Malte Pehl, Taking Stock of Political Sociology Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Political Culture at a Crossroads? Kay Lawson and Mildred Schwartz, Parties, Interest Groups and Social Movements: Shall Change be Mid - wife to Truth? Eva Etzioni-Halevy, Socio-Political Inequalities: Elites, Classes and Democracy Prakash Sarangi, Contemporary Approaches to the Study of the State Jan van Deth, Political Sociology: Old Concerns and New Directions