The right to rule
how states win and lose legitimacy
"Through a remarkable fusion of empirical research and theory, [author] makes clear the link between political consent and political rule. Fixing a definition of legitimacy that is both general and particular, he is able to study the role of legitimacy as it has been maintained and lost in a diverse selection of societies. He begins by detailing the origins of state legitimacy and the methods governments have used to wield it best. He then considers the habits of less successful states, exploring how the process works across different styles of government."--Book jacket.
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
No specific content concerns can be confirmed from the available English catalog information. Consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Balanced tone · Steady pace
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.
This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.
This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-2311-3872-7
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL18518257M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
More Nonfiction books
These matches combine shared categories with author, publication-era, and reading-length signals.
Fusarium Mycotoxins
by Anne E. Desjardins
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Global Politics of Defense Reform (Initiatives in Strategic Studies: Issues and Policies)
by Thomas Bruneau, Harold Trinkunas
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
In Defense of Globalization
by Jagdish Bhagwati
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Iran's Military Forces and Warfighting Capabilities
by Anthony H. Cordesman, Martin Kleiber
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Key Contemporary Buildings
by Rob Gregory
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Monuments of Progress
by Claudia Agostoni
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.