Before European Hegemony

In this important study, Janet Abu-Lughod presents a groundbreaking reinterpretation of global economic evolution and provides a new paradigm for understanding the evolution of world systems by tracing the rise of a system that, at its peak in the opening decades of the fourteenth century, involved a vast region stretching between northwest Europe and China. Writing in a clear ...

In this important study, Janet Abu-Lughod presents a groundbreaking reinterpretation of global economic evolution and provides a new paradigm for understanding the evolution of world systems by tracing the rise of a system that, at its peak in the opening decades of the fourteenth century, involved a vast region stretching between northwest Europe and China. Writing in a clear and lively style, Abu-Lughod explores the reasons for the eventual decay of this system and the rise of European hegemony. She concludes with a provocative analysis of our current world economy, suggesting that we may be moving towards a pluralistic world similar in important respects to that of the thirteenth century.

珍妮特·L.阿布—卢格霍德，1928—2013，美国著名社会学家，世界体系理论的重要代表人物。曾任教于芝加哥大学、宾夕法尼亚大学等大学，在城市社会学、中东研究和世界体系理论等领域均产生了重要影响。主要著作有《变幻的城市：城市社会学》等。《欧洲霸权之前：1250—1350年的世界体系》是她的代表作。