When the manuscript of this book came to my attention, I intended to do no more than skim it to see if I could help a young scholar unknown to me. Instead I found myself reading every word straight through to the end. The author's emphasis on the role of the instruments of violence and repression in inhibiting liberal and democratic trends is new to scholarship and quite convincing. Here is comparative history at its best. This book takes a big step beyond my Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy.
— Barrington Moore, Jr.

"When the manuscript of this book came to my attention, I intended to do no more than skim it to see if I could help a young scholar unknown to me. Instead I found myself reading every word straight through to the end. The author's emphasis on the role of the instruments of violence and repression in inhibiting liberal and democratic trends is new to scholarship and quite convincing. Here is comparative history at its best. This book takes a big step beyond my Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy."—Barrington Moore, Jr.