How Empires Adapt and Survive: An Exercise in Comparative History Peter Heather & John Rapley, Why Empires Fall: Rome, America and the Future of the West, New Haven & London, Yale University Press, 2023
How Empires Adapt and Survive: An Exercise in Comparative History Peter Heather & John Rapley, Why Empires Fall: Rome, America and the Future of the West, New Haven & London, Yale University Press, 2023

Summary/Abstract: Although historical parallels between the fall of the Roman Empire and the current state of the West are not new in academic research or in public discourse, Peter Heather and John Rapley attempt to distance themselves from the prevailing approaches and the consensus they generated. The authors intend to provide a new perspective, built on the most recent archeological evidence, that simultaneously clarifies the imperial dynamics leading to decline and offers relevant insights regarding the dangers and possibilities the West faces today, when it has already lost its former global supremacy due to the rapid development of former marginal political entities. As a result, the book investigates how the periphery of an empire becomes politically and economically relevant and how negotiation is the key towards building a more prosperous future for all actors on the international scene.

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