Michael
Jul 14th 2009, 11:10 AM
Stephen Walt of Foreign Policy magazine has been reviewing a book about the 'decline & fall' of the British Empire.
From this, Walt has drawn out ten lessons about imperialism that he thinks Americans can learn from.
Personally, I think the listing is an excellent one.
1. There is no such thing as a "benevolent" Empire.
2. All Empires depend on self-justifying ideology and rhetoric that is often at odds with reality.
3. Successful empires require ample "hard power."
4. As Empires decline, they become more opulent, and they obsess about their own glory.
5. Great Empires are heterogeneous.
6. When building an empire, it's hard to know where to stop.
7. It takes a lot of incompetent people to run an empire.
8. Great Powers defend perceived interests with any means at their disposal.
9. Nationalism and other forms of local identity remain a potent obstacle to long-term imperial control.
10. "Imperial Prestige" is both an asset and a trap.
Read the whole article as each point is described - I've only just listed the points here. Article (http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/07/13/ten_lessons_on_empire)
Point number one needs to be repeated over and over. Points number two and four seem to be quite topical over the last decade.
From this, Walt has drawn out ten lessons about imperialism that he thinks Americans can learn from.
Personally, I think the listing is an excellent one.
1. There is no such thing as a "benevolent" Empire.
2. All Empires depend on self-justifying ideology and rhetoric that is often at odds with reality.
3. Successful empires require ample "hard power."
4. As Empires decline, they become more opulent, and they obsess about their own glory.
5. Great Empires are heterogeneous.
6. When building an empire, it's hard to know where to stop.
7. It takes a lot of incompetent people to run an empire.
8. Great Powers defend perceived interests with any means at their disposal.
9. Nationalism and other forms of local identity remain a potent obstacle to long-term imperial control.
10. "Imperial Prestige" is both an asset and a trap.
Read the whole article as each point is described - I've only just listed the points here. Article (http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/07/13/ten_lessons_on_empire)
Point number one needs to be repeated over and over. Points number two and four seem to be quite topical over the last decade.