Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
Author of The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics
About the Author
Image credit: Photograph by Bill Holsinger-Robinson, taken during his 2009 TED presentation on the future of Iran.
Works by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics (2011) 774 copies, 19 reviews
The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future (2009) 230 copies, 3 reviews
Principles of International Politics: People's Power, Preferences, and Perceptions (1999) 54 copies, 1 review
The Spoils of War: Greed, Power, and the Conflicts That Made Our Greatest Presidents (2016) 21 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce
- Birthdate
- 1946-11-24
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Country (for map)
- USA
- Education
- University of Michigan (PhD)
Queens College, City University of New York (AB|1967) - Occupations
- political scientist
university professor - Organizations
- New York University
Hoover Institution
Members
Reviews
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 18
- Members
- 1,358
- Popularity
- #18,931
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 25
- ISBNs
- 76
- Languages
- 3
- Favorited
- 1
This is a reasonably interesting thesis insofar as it challenges Max Weber's view of protestant religion as the cause of the economic revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. The author argues that the reformation and the rise of capitalism were in fact both consequences of these 12th century treaties. However, his argument draws very strong conclusions from information which could indicate mere correlation without causation. Granted that some European countries have had more success in the realm of economic growth and parliamentary governance than others - a hundred other factors (in addition to the treaty of Worms) might also have influenced this outcome.
I could not really make sense of how the bargaining between a monarch and the church worked. The author explains on several occasions that the king had the right to reject a new bishop proposed by the catholic church to fill a vacancy at a diocese in the king's realm, but "as long as no nominee was consecrated, the regalia remained in the possession of the crown". Which seems to have resulted in an economic advantage to the monarchy. But unless I missed something (which I don't think I did), the author never explains the other side of the bargain. How did this increase in wealth on the side of the monarchy result in a comparable increase in power on the side of the church? I found it difficult to identify any benefits for the church in this treaty - the author repeatedly states those benefits existed, but I don't think he explains what they were. At least not sufficiently clearly for me (the brief note on page 73 is the only explanation I could find, but I do not understand it).
I also think the final chapter, where the author tries to draw direct parallels from the treaty of Worms to the present day, is stupid. It is about as far as you can get from an academic argument without deliberate parody. My guess is that the editor made the author include this chapter just to boost sales.
In any event, this book is a nice and quick read if you like to spend a few hours learning more about a treaty between European kings and the catholic church in the 12th century. If you're about to write a book on the "rise of the West", this might give you some useful food for thought. I would not bother with this book otherwise - historians tend to write better history books than non-historians.… (more)