The Project-State and Its Rivals: A New History of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

Charles S. Maier's The Project-State and Its Rivals offers a radical alternative interpretation of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, focusing on the political and economic impulses that propelled societies through a century of territorial states and transnational forces. He argues that project-states, new forms of imperial domination, global networks of finance, and international associations shaped public life, leading to the fraying of civic culture.

Format: Hardback
Length: 528 pages
Publication date: 16 May 2023
Publisher: Harvard University Press

A fresh and innovative account of the forces that shaped the 20th and 21st centuries is presented in the following text.

We believed we had a firm grasp on the events of the 20th century. For many in the West, following the two world wars and the protracted cold war, the conclusion was inescapable: democratic ideals had triumphed over dictatorship. But if the 20th century signified the triumph of liberalism, as many intellectuals proclaimed, why have the darker impulses of the era, such as ethnic nationalism, racist violence, and populist authoritarianism, resurfaced?

The Project-State and Its Rivals presents a revolutionary alternative interpretation that takes us from the transformative challenges of the world wars to our present day. Instead of the conventional narrative of domestic politics and international relations, Charles S. Maier examines the political and economic forces that propelled societies through a century when territorial states and transnational forces both claimed power, engaging at times as rivals and at times as allies. Maier focuses on recurring institutional constellations, including project-states encompassing both democracies and dictatorships that sought not only to retain power but also to transform their societies; new forms of imperial domination; global networks of finance; and the international associations, foundations, and NGOs that attempted to shape public life through purportedly apolitical appeals to science and ethics.

In this comprehensive account, which draws on the author's studies spanning over half a century, Maier invites a reevaluation of the long 20th century. His history of state entanglements with capital, the decline of public projects, and the fragility of governance provides insight into the unraveling of our own civic culture, but also offers hope for its recovery.

Weight: 908g
Dimension: 166 x 251 x 45 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674290143