Studying Charles Tilly (1929–2008), American sociologist, historian and political scientist, is essential for understanding political change and social conflict. His research focuses on how grassroots populations, through different forms of collective action, influence historical events by trying to improve the conditions of people's lives. This book is not only an homage to Tilly, but is also aimed at understanding and applying his thought. In each chapter, the authors, experts on Tilly's work, examine his concepts, theories, and methodological contributions, providing a richer understanding of them. In addition, this book is very contemporary. From the beginning of this century, mainly from 2011, important popular mobilizations, such as the Arab Spring and 15-M or “los indignados” (the indignant movement in Spain), gradually spread to other countries (the US, Yemen, Israel, etc.) in successive “Occupy” movements. The political mobilization of the grassroots movements are undergoing a resurgence, a process that Tilly would have wanted to study. This book can be a good guide for analyzing and understanding these movements.

Bringing together historians and political scientists, this unique collaboration compares nineteenth-century civil societies that failed to develop lasting democracies with civil societies that succeeded. Much of the current literature on the connection between civil society and consolidating democracy focuses exclusively on single, contemporary polities that are ever-changing and uncertain. By studying historical cases, the authors are able to demonstrate which civil societies developed in tandem with lasting democracies and which did not. Contrasting these two sets of cases, the book both enlightens readers about individual countries and extracts lessons about the connections between civil society and democracy in contemporary times. Above all, the authors ask the vital but under-researched question, OHow and why does democratic civil society develop?O

Professor Martin Daunton's major work of original synthesis explores the politics of taxation in the "long" nineteenth century. In 1799, income tax stood at 20% of national income; by the outbreak of the First World War, it was 10%. This equitable exercise in fiscal containment lent the government a high level of legitimacy, allowing it to fund war and welfare in the twentieth century. Combining new research with a comprehensive survey of existing knowledge, this book examines the complex financial relationship between the State and its citizens.

Europe’s boundaries have mainly been shaped by cultural, religious, and political conceptions rather than by geography. This volume of bilingual essays from renowned European scholars outlines the transformation of Europe’s boundaries from the fall of the ancient world to the age of decolonization, or the end of the explicit endeavor to “Europeanize” the world.From the decline of the Roman Empire to the polycentrism of today’s world, the essays span such aspects as the confrontation of Christian Europe with Islam and the changing role of the Mediterranean from “mare nostrum” to a frontier between nations. Scandinavia, eastern Europe and the Atlantic are also analyzed as boundaries in the context of exploration, migratory movements, cultural exchanges, and war. The Boundaries of Europe, edited by Pietro Rossi, is the first installment in the ALLEA book series Discourses on Intellectual Europe, which seeks to explore the question of an intrinsic or quintessential European identity in light of the rising skepticism towards Europe as an integrated cultural and intellectual region.

Authors Costa and Zolo share the conviction that a proper understanding of the rule of law today requires reference to a global problematic horizon. This book offers some relevant guides for orienting the reader through a political and legal debate where the rule of law (and the doctrine of human rights) is a concept both controversial and significant at the national and international levels.