Empires: The Logic of World Domination from Ancient Rome to the United States

"What makes Munkler's effort intriguingly different is that he doesn't just talk about America, but offers fascinating thoughts on the European Union as, at least potentially, a kind of empire too."
The Independent

"[In] tough-minded style, the German strategist Herfried Münkler has expounded the world-historical logic of empires in an ambitious comparative work."
Perry Anderson, London Review of Books

"Although Münkler's concerns are firmly grounded in the present, it is the ambition and historical richness of his argument that most firmly distinguishes it from other attempts to make sense of empire. Defying the presentism that is so characteristic of much commentary on the subject, Münkler takes the reader on a panoramic journey from the 'parallel empires' of Rome and Qin Dynasty China, through the seaborne and steppe empires of the late medieval and early modern periods, to the imperial American present ... A pleasure to read."
Australian Journal of Political Science

"Seamlessly weaving together theory and empiricism, [Empires] is a historical analysis of the highest order."
Political Studies Review

"Herfried Münkler is a walking one-man think-tank."
Die Zeit

"A fascinating examination of empire."
Tribune

"Münkler carefully traces the sweep of empires in history, distinguishes between that which is imperial and that which is imperialist, and renders a fascinating and balanced account of two contemporary cases: the contradictory elements of America?s imperial destiny and the inevitability, following the US precedent, of the EU?s taking on imperial forms, out of necessity, despite its anti-imperialist character. In a twenty-first century where issues of order and stability lie at the core of security questions, this timely book, elegant in its conception and translation, may be a vital guide."
James Gow, King?s College London

"Without question, this is the best single volume available on the logic of empires, both ancient and modern. The empirical range is impressive, the debt to international relations theory helpful, and the whole is written with grace and clarity."
John A. Hall, McGill University