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Revision with unchanged content. Throughout history, great powers Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, the British and Spanish New World Empires, to name a few have established widely vary ing systems of domination to control subordinate polities. This variation, especially when found among contemporaneous actors, suggests an im por tant puzzle that would seem to defy the expectations of pre do mi nant approaches in international relations theory: Why do great powers fa cing the si milar incentives and constraints of an anarchic system establish widely different sub-systems of hierarchical domination? This book seeks to explain the apparent puzzle by theorizing that a great power s behavioral choice in esta blishing hierarchy is influenced by domestic social factors. Specifically, I look to a great power s communal ideology its reason for being, or raison d etre, that informs membership criteria, political authority, and legitimate power expression. Applying this theory to twelve cases in three eras of in ter na tional politics, I argue that communal ideology is a compelling explanation for variation in great power hierarchy. This book is intended for audiences interested in subject matter related to international relations theory, political science and world history.

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Completed his graduate studies in political science and international relations theory at Johns Hopkins University. He has served in a variety of foreign policy roles in the U.S. government and provides geopolitical and trade policy advice in the private sector. He currently lives with his wife and child in Seattle, WA.

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