Books by Sarah C.M. Paine

Why do some countries remain poor and dysfunctional while others thrive and become affluent? This title identifies reasons why prosperity has increased in some countries but not others by constructing and comparing cases that focus on the processes of nation building, state building, and economic development in comparably situated countries.

Based on archival research, this is a history of the Russo-Chinese border which examines Russia's expansion into the Asian heartland during the decades of Chinese decline and the 20th-century paradox of Russia's inability to sustain political and economic sway over its domains.