Ben W. Ansell is Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, Nuffield College. He works on the political economy of education, inequality, and wealth. Co-authored with David Samuels, his book Inequality and Democratization: An Elite-Competition Approach won the 2014 Woodrow Wilson award for best book in political science. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and co-editor of Comparative Political Studies. Johannes Lindvall is Professor of Political Science, Lund University. He works on comparative politics, especially political institutions, public policy, and political economy. He led the European Research Council project Reform Capacity, and has published in World Politics, Comparative Political Studies, the Journal of Politics, and the American Political Science Review.

'Inward Conquest provides fascinating insights into the development of social bureaucracies and the dynamics of political struggle over religion, region, and relations of production. Boundary wars may be the legend of state-building; yet governments moved from protectors of citizens to providers of government services over the long nineteenth century. Creeping processes of centralization, subsidization and secularization shaped the evolution of the modern social delivery state. This multi-methods tour de force offers a much-needed correction to stories of state-building that preference external enemies to the neglect of internal allies, and offers a comprehensive, sweeping view of historical development reminiscent of Lipset and Rokkan.' Cathie Jo Martin, Boston University

• Part I. A Revolution in Government: 1. Two cities; 2. Public services; Part II. Order: 3. The police; 4. Prisons; Part III. Knowledge: 5. Schools; 6. Libraries; Part IV. Health: 7. Asylums; 8. Vaccinations; 9. Midwifery; Part V. The Origins of Public Services: 10. Conclusions.