The narrow corridor States, societies, and the fate of liberty

Following 2012's Why Nations Fail, this third book by economist Acemoglu (Massachusetts Inst. of Technology) and political scientist and economist Robinson (Univ. of Chicago) addresses the preconditions for democracy's, and freedom's, success or failure in states. The coauthors champion the primacy of political and economic institutions over other determinants of state success in a way that is similar to Jared Diamond's argument for the pivotal role of geography. They ask: How does a nation get in the "Corridor" to promote and protect liberty in a "Shackled Leviathan" (shackled in the sense that the state cannot ride roughshod over subjects)? Why do some states never even make it there? The authors muster an admirable wealth of examples, then simplify the analysis with diagrams and easily remembered labels: "Shackled, Absent, Despotic Leviathans," "Corridor" (the social and political space within which democracy maintains itself), "Red Queen Effect" (opposing forces adjust to stay in balance so it seem like you've not moved at all). There is a good deal of repetition in this work whose thesis is simple yet examples are complicated, but it doesn't affect a well-written and argued treatise. VERDICT Indispensable reading for political scientists but also accessible enough to appeal to all educated readers.--David Keymer, Cleveland

A wide-ranging survey of the conditions of liberty required to steer the world away from the Hobbesian war of each against all.Why do nations fail? So Acemoglu and Robinson, economists at MIT and the University of Chicago respectively, asked in their 2012 collaboration, Why Nations Fail. Their answer is complex, but it falls largely on the absence or failure of democratic institutions. In this continuation of their previous book, they examine how liberty works: It is not "natural," not widespread, "is rare in history and is rare today," and is a fairly recent phenomenon that balances the competing demands of state and society while being reinforced by that balance. For instance, the Athenian constitutional reforms of Cleisthenes "were helpful for strengthening the political power of Athenian citizens while also battling the cage of norms"that cage of norms being the informal body of customs supplanted by state institutions. Those norms in turn "constrained what the state could do and how far state building could go," providing their own set of checks. Though somewhat fluid in its definition, liberty, as Acemoglu and Robinson show, is expressed differently under various "leviathans," to extend the Hobbesian critique. The American Leviathan, for example, does not contend properly with inequality and racial oppression, two enemies of liberty, while the "Paper Leviathan" is a bureaucratic machine favoring the privileged class, serving as both a political and economic brake on development and yielding "fear, violence, and dominance for most of its citizens." So it is with China, a "Despotic Leviathan" that commands the economy and coerces political conformity. The authors trace a link between democratic states and what they call "Shackled Leviathans," the beast in restraints being the best of all possible scenarios. Though the argument is a little jargon-y, it is, as with the authors' previous books, provocative and intuitively correct.An endlessly rewarding book full of takeaways, including the thought that the best societies protect everyone's rights. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.