 | Great Empires, Small Nations: The Uncertain Future of the Sovereign State Subjects: Politics & International Relations; Humanities; History; Introductory Politics; History - Theory Method & Historiography; Political History; 'Colomer's book is a stimulating read, certainly for anyone willing to entertain nonconventional observations that hold up well in what is happening in the world. His most important argument is that global public services, such as security, a trading system, an international monetary regime, and communication networks provided by large democratic entities such as the United States and the European Union provide opportunities for small countries and regions to prosper. The successful smaller units - like Ireland or Catalonianbsp;- trade more in proportion to their economies than large ones, are generally more democratic, and have more multilingual populations. I expect this book to be widely read and greatly admired.'nbsp;- Sidney Weintraub, William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, USA Josep M. Colomer is a member by election of the Academia Europaea and life member of the American Political Science Association. He is currently a Research Professor at the CSIC and the Pompeu Fabra University (in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe). |
