The Struggle for Development and Democracy: Volume 2: A General Theory

How did imperialist elites build their power? The Struggle for Development and Democracy begins to answer this pressing question. In this rousing study, Alessandro Olsaretti argues that we need significantly new theories of development and democracy to answer the problem posed by neoliberalism and the populist backlash, namely, uneven development and divisive politics heightened by the 9/11 attacks. This volume proposes a general theory of development and democracy, as part of a unified theory of power, emphasizing that development needs markets, civil society, and the state, and also the proper networks and interactions amongst markets, civil society, and the state. Imperialism undermines these interactions, and turns countries into providers of cheap land or labour. This book begins to sketch the mechanisms at work that facilitate this process.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments List of Figures and Tables Introduction  1 The approach to theory and the goals of the book  2 The general theory in comparison to other theories Part 1 Summary of the Hypotheses and Theses of the Theory  Introduction to Part 1 1 Hypotheses on Neoliberalism and Elites and Collective Action  1 Definitions of the Main Concepts of the General Theory  2 Gramsci’s Theory of Hegemony and Uneven Development  3 Hypotheses on Neoliberalism and the Hegemony of Elites  4 Refined Hypotheses on the Italian and British Case Studies 2 The Theses and Additional Hypotheses of the General Theory  1 Theses about the Sources of Development and Democracy  2 Theses about Imperialism and Uneven Development  3 Additional Hypotheses on Other Countries as Case Studies  4 Additional Hypotheses on Neoliberalism and Populism Part 2 Key Approaches and Concepts from Sociology and Geography  Introduction to Part 2 3 Macro Historical Sociology and Geography and World Systems Theory  1 General Theory and Macro Historical Sociology and Foundations  2 World Systems Theory and the Maximum Systems in the World  3 Causal Chains and Reference Frames within the Main Arguments  4 The Semantic Reference Frame and the Rise of the West  5 The Geographic Reference Frame and Interstate and Social Conflict  6 Geopolitics and the Social War of Position and of Maneuver 4 The Sociology of Development and Political and Cultural Sociology  1 The Sociology of Development and the Role of the State  2 Embedded Autonomy and Types of State Systems  3 Political Sociology and Interstate Conflict in State Systems  4 Cultural Sociology and Nation-States and Development  5 The Interaction between External and Internal Dynamics  6 The Social War of Maneuver and Violent Social Movements Part 3 Development and Democracy and the Division of Labour in Society  Introduction to Part 3 5 Theoretical Groundwork on Power and the Division of Labour in Society  1 The Division of Labour in Society and Capabilities  2 Capabilities within a Theory of Power and Conflict  3 The Provision of Capital and the Importance of Regulation  4 Regulation and System States and System Change  5 The Balance of Power and Separation of Powers between Arenas  6 The Argument Regarding Uneven Development within a Country 6 Theses on the Sources of Development and Democracy  1 Theses i and ii and the Definitions of Basic Concepts  2 Thesis iii on the Division of Labour as a Source of Development  3 Thesis iv on Embedded Autonomy as a Source of Development  4 Thesis v and the Full Definition of Democracy Including Institutions  5 Thesis vi on Interactions between Development and Democracy  6 Thesis vii and the Loss of Development and Democracy Part 4 Development and Democracy and the Division of Labour in the World System  Introduction to Part 4 7 Theoretical Groundwork on Power and the Division of Labour in the World System  1 The Division of Labour in the World System and Geopolitical Areas  2 Geopolitical Areas and the Rules of Projection of Power  3 The Effects of the Projection of Power outside the Core  4 The Effects of Heightened Conflict on Hegemony outside the Core  5 Political-Military Development and State and Market Formation  6 The Argument Regarding Uneven Development across Countries 8 Theses on the Sources of Imperialism and Uneven Development  1 Thesis viii on Democracy and the Balance of Power  2 Theses ix and x on Conflict and Transitions to Capitalism  3 Theses xi and xii on Conflict Leading from Democracy to Imperialism  4 Thesis xiii on the Effects of Imperialism Upon Uneven Development  5 Thesis xiv on Economic Effects on the Core  6 Thesis xv on Political-Military Effects on the Core  Conclusions Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Alessandro Olsaretti is an independent researcher in Montreal. He has published articles in Critical Sociology, the Journal of Classical Sociology, and Historical Materialism. He has also worked on Ottoman history, social history, and the history of social and political thought, and has published in the Radical History Review, Social History, and the International History Review. Outside academia, he has worked as a database analyst in the finance sector, development sector, and fundraising sector, and has published a novel titled The Caravaggio Code. He is working on a series of essays titled Towards a Humanist Social Science.