| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 110.5

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 110.5 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Comparative/World

Alexei Miller and Alfred J. Rieber, editors. Imperial Rule. (Pasts Incorporated, CEU Studies in the Humanities, number 1.) Budapest and New York: Central European University Press. 2004. Pp. 212. Cloth $47.95, paper $24.95.
The nature of imperial rule and the meaning of empire have received significant scholarly attention in the past decade, and the growth in interest in world history will surely generate interest in the various types for the foreseeable future. With the collapse of the USSR it briefly seemed that the last empire was finally gone, but in today's "globalized" world, the study of empire continues to have a vital political significance. It is perhaps appropriate that this new collection of essays should issue from the Central European University (CEU), itself a production of postimperial Mitteleuropa. The nine essays collected here originated as contributions to CEU's project on the comparative history of empires and provide ample food for thought for both specialists and those first venturing out into the field of "empire studies." The broad perspective and comparative method used in many of these essays, their diverse foci, and the international roster of authors all add to the book's interest and value.	1
The specific focus of the essays varies greatly, and they have been grouped by the editors into three sections—dealing with nationalism, legitimacy, and center-periphery relations in imperial rule. Topics include Germany in the 1871–1914 period, the late Ottoman Empire, religion (especially "non-Orthodox" religion) and the Russian Empire, the end of the Spanish Empire and its impact on twentieth-century Spain, and legitimizing Habsburg rule in the late nineteenth century. The collection does have its limits: it focuses squarely on Europe (including the Ottoman Empire), does not take on the issue of empires before the modern era except tangentially, and does not attempt to wade into the sometimes murky waters of postmodern or feminist interpretations of empire. Still, within these (still very broad) limits, the essays are of excellent quality. I know of no other single work more calculated to excite discussion and that covers so many aspects of modern empire studies.	. . .

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