Power and Inequality
The Prince
Niccolò Machiavelli
A classic work on political power, strategy, and the acquisition and maintenance of rule.
Philosophy/Political Science
Discourse on Inequality
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Explores the origins of social inequality and its impact on human nature.
Philosophy/Political Science/Sociology
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte
Karl Marx
A brilliant analysis of class struggle, revolution, and the rise of authoritarianism in 19th-century France.
History/Political Science
On Power
Bertrand de Jouvenel
A wide-ranging exploration of the nature, history, and dynamics of power in human societies.
Political Science/Sociology
Globalization and Interconnectedness
The Modern World-System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century
Immanuel Wallerstein
A foundational text in world-systems theory, analyzing the historical development of a global capitalist system and its inherent inequalities.
Sociology/History
Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
Benedict Anderson
Explores the social and cultural processes through which national identities are constructed and maintained, even though most people within a nation will never personally know each other.
Political Science/Sociology/History
Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization
Arjun Appadurai
Examines the complex cultural flows and interactions that characterize globalization, including the movement of people, ideas, technology, finance, and media.
Anthropology/Sociology
Globalisation: A Very Short Introduction
Manfred B. Steger
A concise overview of the key dimensions and debates surrounding globalization.
Sociology/Political Science