{"product_id":"the-politics-of-succession-kokkonen-9780192897510","title":"The Politics of Succession: Forging Stable Monarchies in Europe, AD 1000-1800","description":"The death of the ruler poses a significant threat to the stability of any polity. Arranging for a peaceful and orderly succession has been a formidable challenge in most historical societies, and it continues to be a test that modern authoritarian regimes regularly face and often fail. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on a unique dataset of the life and fates of monarchs in all major monarchies in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, \u003cem\u003eThe Politics of Succession\u003c\/em\u003e documents how succession have historically been moments of violence and insecurity. Deaths of rulers were often associated with civil war, and the shadow cast by looming successions caused coups and depositions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut this book also shows that the development and spread of primogeniture - the eldest-son-taking-the-throne - mitigated the problem of succession in Europe in the period after AD 1000. The predictability and stability that followed from a clear hereditary principle outweighed the problems of incompetent and irrational rulers sometimes inheriting power. The data used in the book demonstrates that primogeniture reduced the risk of depositions and civil war following the inevitable deaths of leaders. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this way, hereditary monarchy helped create political stability and lengthen the time horizons of rulers and elites alike, thereby facilitating state-building. The book thus sheds light on the rationale of a system of leader selection that today often appears illogical and outdated - and it uses these findings to shed light on the key advantage of modern representative democracy: its ability to complete power transfers peacefully.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Andrej Kokkonen, Jgen Mler, Anders Sundell\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0192897519\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780192897510\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/20\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 268\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.26lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.41h x 6.43w x 0.82d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2023","brand":"Andrej Kokkonen","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44072605909247,"sku":"9780192897510","price":90.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_5544d510-1a7a-4b9b-b1ce-c4f0dc89bd29.jpg?v=1685442975","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-politics-of-succession-kokkonen-9780192897510","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}