In 1990, Pincus received a
PhD in
history from
Harvard University. He is a prominent scholar of
Early Modern British history, and his work has focused on the 17th century, in particular the
Glorious Revolution and English foreign policy. His book
1688: The First Modern Revolution has been praised as providing "a new understanding of the origins of the modern, liberal state."
The Economist named it as one of the best books on history published in 2009. Professor Mark Knights called it "brilliant and provocative," for Pincus argues the revolution of 1688 was the first modern revolution. 1688 was violent and divisive; it represented not a coup or invasion but a popular rejection of the king's absolutist modernisation based on the
French Catholic model. The Revolution, Pincus argues, expressed an Anglo-Dutch emphasis on
consent of the governed, toleration of different forms of Protestantism, free debate and free commerce. Other reviews were more negative, however. Professor Grant Tapsell of
Oxford University said it was "fundamentally flawed in three ways: the argument is most implausible where it is most novel; the evidence used to make the argument is mishandled; and much of the book involves reinventing the wheel due to a bizarrely patchy engagement with existing popular culture." Pincus has proposed a theory of
revolution that is based on opposing forces of
modernization. In his telling, revolutions occur when a
state embarks on a strong modernization program, and as a result of the state's attempts to modernize, divergent revolutionary forces form in order to provide alternative routes towards modernization. In contrast to most theories that seek to explain the origins of revolutions, Pincus argues that "state modernization is a necessary prerequisite to revolution" In March 2010 he delivered the
Sir John Neale lecture at
University College London. He was in Oxford for the 2010–2011 academic year working on the
origins of the British Empire. == Family ==