John A Hall is Emeritus James McGill Professor of Sociology at McGill University and the author of many books including Powers and Liberties: The Causes and Consequences of the Rise of the West (Blackwell, 1985), Liberalism: Politics, Ideology and the Market (Paladin, 1988), Coercion and Consent: Studies on the Modern State (Polity, 1994) and International Orders:Essays, Interpretations and Rejoinders (Polity, 1996).