Empires of the Weak

”[A] provocative argument … As a critique of prevailing modes of thinking about global politics, Empires of the Weak succeeds admirably.”—Alan Mikhail, New York Times Book Review“Without assuming prior knowledge, Empires of the Weak, demonstrates the problems with the theoretical assumptions of the military revolution thesis.”—Sarah Kinkel, Times Higher Education“Sharman builds a provocative, yet cogent argument, wide-ranging and readable.”—Ephraim Nissan, Quaderni di Studi Indo-Mediterranei”[Empires of the Weak is] intellectually challenging and makes observers think about where they stand before they call in their bets on the sweep of history… . people who are willing to challenge their views … should relish the book.”—I. William Zartman, Rest Journal“An interesting and thought-provoking narrative… . Empires of the Weak is a valuable addition to the underrepresented topic of non-Western military history as part of the growing literature on the underlying causes of the great divergence from the vantage point of global military and political history.”—Kaveh Yazdani, International Review of Social History

J. C. Sharman is the Sir Patrick Sheehy Professor of International Relations in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of King’s College. His books include The Despot’s Guide to Wealth Management and International Order in Diversity. He lives in London.