Conquests And Rents

Tragically, dictatorship and civil strife have led to less developed, less democratic, and more conflict-prone contemporary Muslim-majority societies. Ahmed argues, however, neither Islam nor aspects of Muslim culture are the cause. Grounded in a positive political economy approach, Conquests and Rents investigates why these societies are predisposed to political violence and low levels of development. Focusing on the role of political institutions and economic rents, Ahmed argues that territories where Islam spread via military conquest developed institutions and practices impervious to democracy and more prone to civil war, while societies in non-conquered territories developed governance structures more susceptible to democracy when rents decline. Conquests and Rents introduces a novel theoretical argument, with corroborative qualitative and statistical analysis, to examine the interplay of the historical legacy of institutions from the premodern period and contemporary rent streams in Muslim-majority societies.

The last survey of the rent-seeking literature took place more than a decade ago. Since that time a great deal of new research has been published in a wide variety of journals, covering a wide variety of topics. The scope of that research is such that very few researchers will be familiar with more than a small part of contemporary research, and very few libraries will be able to provide access to the full breadth of that research. This two-volume collection provides an extensive overview of 40 years of rent-seeking research. The volumes include the foundational papers, many of which have not been in print for two decades. They include recent game-theoretic analyses of rent-seeking contests and also appUcations of the rent-seeking concepts and methodology to economic regulation, international trade policy, economic history, poUtical com petition, and other social phenomena. The new collection is more than twice as large as any previous collection and both updates and extends the earUer surveys. Volume I contains previously pubhshed research on the theory of rent-seeking contests, which is an important strand of contemporary game theory. Volume II contains previously published research that uses the theory of rent-seeking to an alyze a broad range of public policy and social science topics. The editors spent more than a year assembling possible papers and, although the selections fill two large volumes, many more papers could have been included.

The essays in this book, all by distinguished historians, illuminate the main activities, preoccupations and aspirations of the families whose territorial power and local leadership made them a central factor in medieval Scottish society. Issues discussed include the influence of Anglo-Norman England on earlier medieval Scotland, patterns of land accumulation by the aristocracy, noble residences, the legal and administrative aspects of baronial lordship, clientage, and dealings between magnates and the Church. Throughout, the essays stress the importance of recognising that, before the Wars of Independence, the nobility of Scotland was closely bound by ties of kinship and property with the nobility in England and emphasise that the common assumption of perpetual opposition between baronage and the Crown is a myth. First published in 1985, these essays remain essential reading on the subject.

The last survey of the rent-seeking literature took place more than a decade ago. Since that time a great deal of new research has been published in a wide variety of journals, covering a wide variety of topics. The scope of that research is such that very few researchers will be familiar with more than a small part of contemporary research, and very few libraries will be able to provide access to the full breadth of that research. This two-volume collection provides an extensive overview of 40 years of rent-seeking research. The volumes include the foundational papers, many of which have not been in print for two decades. They include recent game-theoretic analyses of rent-seeking contests and also appHcations of the rent-seeking concepts and methodology to economic regulation, international trade policy, economic history, poUtical com petition, and other social phenomena. The new collection is more than twice as large as any previous collection and both updates and extends the earlier surveys. Volume I contains previously published research on the theory of rent-seeking contests, which is an important strand of contemporary game theory. Volume II contains previously pubHshed research that uses the theory of rent-seeking to an alyze a broad range of public policy and social science topics. The editors spent more than a year assembling possible papers and, although the selections fill two large volumes, many more papers could have been included.

With its vivid language and bold strokes, the magnificent History of the Conquest of Peru, first published in 1847, is one of historian William Prescott's landmark works. A masterly study of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro's overthrow of the Inca Empire, this astonishing chronicle is considered a classic of Latin American history. Noted for its striking portrayal of the Spanish character, the book rings with a "fusion of courage, cruelty, pride, and gallows humor," says Darnell. "We seem to be overhearing dialogue and observing firsthand the interaction between the Spaniards as they struggle for control of an empire." He hails this as "an immensely readable history."Also available from Cosimo Classics: History of the Conquest of Mexico, Prescott's companion volume about Cort s's subjugation of the Aztecs.Historian, writer, and scholar WILLIAM HICKLING PRESCOTT (1796-1859) was born in Salem, Massachusetts. A regular contributor to the prestigious Boston literary journal North American Review, he also authored numerous books of history, including 1837's The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic, a critical and popular success in both America and Europe.