ABSTRACT

Treasons, Stratagems, and Spoils is a sequel to the author's highly regarded Stratagems and Spoils.Treason, the new word in the title, indicates a heightened attention to morality?to ideas of duty and conscience?as a foil to rational calculations of advantage. By providing sets of propositions and questions that illuminate narratives of political events, this book helps anyone interested in struggles for power understand politics and political leaders in their own and in other cultures. The method can be used to make sense of power struggles in peasant villages, electoral and presidential maneuvering in the United States, the confusions of post-Soviet Eastern Europe, or Gandhi's morality deployed as a weapon to drive the British out of India.

part One|35 pages

How to Understand: The Basics

chapter 1|14 pages

The Aroma of Politics

chapter 2|20 pages

The Toolbox

part Two|174 pages

How to Lead: Leaders and Followers

chapter 3|14 pages

Decisions and Legitimacy

chapter 4|16 pages

Controlling Followers

chapter 5|12 pages

Politicians and Bureaucrats

chapter 6|17 pages

In Search of Trust

part Three|100 pages

How to Win: Leaders and Opponents

chapter 7|16 pages

Can’t We All Get Along?

chapter 8|14 pages

Three Types of Rule

chapter 9|16 pages

Manipulation

chapter 10|16 pages

Pragmatism

chapter 11|18 pages

Recalcitrance and Factions

chapter 12|18 pages

Revolution