The Rise and Fall of Great Powers

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers – Paul Kennedy

History/Political Science – 540 pages

A good book for anyone interested in an overview of nation-state history spanning the past 500 years. While definitely taking a macro approach to world history (which any attempt at a world history must take), Kennedy does a very good job in examining two of the very prominent factors that lead to rise of some powers and the subsequent decline of others. These two factors are military, i.e. how various wars and military developments shaped the destines of certain nation-states, and economic, i.e. how trade, manufacturing, and finance all form a base for what a state can and cannot do militarily. The attention given to both these areas is comprehensive and thorough, while at the same the reader is not weighed down by endless statistics, dates, or other numbers. I personally found the economic analysis to be the most insightful part of the book, allowing the lay reader to become acquainted with the complex world of monies that is essential to a complete understanding of the time period and subject covered.

Unfortunately, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers does not provide enough information to cover the presumptuous title of the book. What is lacking is any kind of social analysis of the various situations that existed in the different nation-states examined. To ignore the underlying social forces in any one nation-state is to ignore the lives and experiences of the people who allowed the states to work, for without the cooperation of the people in fighting the wars, manufacturing the goods, and providing the labor, no state could rise to the status of world power. This is a particularly glaring omission because it is during this period that capitalism develops out of feudalism and becomes the driving force and engine of modern Europe. This economic development and the drastic changes it brought to all aspects of the different societies under examination seems to me to be a crucial factor. Without it we lack an understanding of how the inner mechanics of the societies were changed and used to the governments advantage in acquiring wealth and hence power.

To the authors’ credit, he has no illusions about the scope of is book. Indeed his goal is to focus on the two aforementioned areas and leave the others factors for other authors to investigate. Even with this acknowledgement I still felt he book to come up short. The perspective was too telescoped at the apex of power in governments, financial, and trading industries. It must be taken in to account that power was and is acquired from the labor of the people, especially so in the years covered in this book.

All in all, this book provides a good starting point for anyone interested in the subject matter. Although it is a bit dated, published 1987, it has an interesting final chapter concerning the future and the role of the current powers, their decline, and the subsequent rise of new powers to take their place. Hint, hint, the USA is not one of the rising ones. Its always fun to see whether or not an authors forecasts for the future come true. The final chapter may indeed turn out to be the best section given a few decades.