Key Concepts

Empire

Alejandro Colás

Overview

The notion of empire has in recent years taken on a renewed importance in world politics. US foreign policy has in particular been associated with this concept by both critics and supporters of American global power. But what exactly is an empire? What distinguishes different forms of empire? Is this category still useful in a post-colonial world?
 
These and other related questions are addressed in this historically informed conceptual introduction to the idea of empire. Alejandro Colás draws on interdisciplinary debates surrounding this disputed notion and offers a survey of different imperial experiences across time and place. Successive chapters consider the imperial organization of political space, the role of markets in sustaining imperial rule and the contradictory expressions of imperial culture. Colás argues that in each of these arenas we can establish differences among empires but also contrast imperial polities to other forms of political rule. In addition he suggests that the experiences and legacies of empire are key to an understanding of the world today, including forms of global governance and experiments in nation-building.
 
Using wide-ranging examples, the book discusses some of the major theories of empire and imperialism in an accessible and engaging way. Above all, the text aims to bring the concept of empire alive to those concerned with contemporary world politics and society. It will be of great interest to those studying and teaching world history, international relations, comparative politics or global sociology.

About the Author

Alejandro Colás teaches international relations at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is author of International Civil Society: Social Movements in World Politics (Polity, 2002) and is on the editorial board of the journal Historical Materialism.

Table of Contents

Chapter I:    Empires in History
The Meanings of Empire
Contrasting Empires 
The Distinctiveness of Empire

Chapter II:   Empire as Space 
The Spatial Imagination of Empire:
Cosmology, Cartography and Government
The Spatial Organisation of Empire:
Frontier, Conquest and Administration 
The Ottoman Empire
Spain’s American Empire
Imperial Legacies: Nation and Citizenship
in a Post-Colonial World

Chapter III:  Empire as Market
Trade and Empire
Towards A World Market
Imperial Transformations at the Centre and Periphery
The Consequences of Capitalist Imperialism
Explaining Capitalist Imperialism

Chapter IV:  Empire as Culture
Culture and Imperial Domination
Imperial Culture and the End
of the State of Nature in Spanish America
Colonial Racism and the Perils
of Miscegenation
Nativism and the Invention of Tradition in Africa Culture and the Subversion of Empire
Cultural Imperialism or Global Culture?

Chapter V:   After Empire
American Empire
Postmodern Empire
Liberal Empire
The End of Empire?

Endorsements

“In this excellent book, Alejandro Colás draws together a wide range of theoretical perspectives and combines them with rich historical detail to illustrate his argument. That he does so in a concise, readable and yet rigorous way is something to be applauded. In short, Empire is a highly impressive achievement.”

—Ray Kiely, SOAS, University of London

“This is an impressive and erudite contribution to the international relations literature on empire. Its distinctive approach, which focuses upon the spatial, economic, and cultural attributes of empire, works very effectively. Moreover it offers a sophisticated critique of the idea of empire as a conceptual framework for thinking about the current global condition.”

—Anthony McGrew, University of Southampton

Available titles

Sort by author | title

  1. Barbara Adam, Time
  2. Alan Aldridge, Consumption
  3. Alan Aldridge, The Market
  4. Jakob Arnoldi, Risk
  5. Colin Barnes and Geof Mercer, Disability
  6. Darin Barney, Network Society
  7. Mildred Blaxter, Health 2nd edition
  8. Harriet Bradley, Gender
  9. Harry Brighouse, Justice
  10. Steve Bruce, Fundamentalism 2nd Edition
  11. Margaret Canovan, The People
  12. Alejandro Colás, Empire
  13. Anthony Elliott, Concepts of the Self 2nd Edition
  14. Steve Fenton, Ethnicity 2nd edition
  15. Michael Freeman, Human Rights
  16. Russell Hardin, Trust
  17. Geoffrey Ingham, Capitalism
  18. Fred Inglis, Culture
  19. Jennifer Jackson Preece, Minority Rights
  20. Gill Jones, Youth
  21. Paul Kelly, Liberalism
  22. Anne Mette Kjær, Governance
  23. Ruth Lister, Poverty
  24. Jon Mandle, Global Justice
  25. Anthony Payne and Nicola Phillips, Development
  26. Judith Phillips, Care
  27. Michael Saward, Democracy
  28. John Scott, Power
  29. Anthony D. Smith, Nationalism
  30. Stuart White, Equality
  1. Capitalism, Geoffrey Ingham
  2. Care, Judith Phillips
  3. Concepts of the Self 2nd Edition, Anthony Elliott
  4. Consumption, Alan Aldridge
  5. Culture, Fred Inglis
  6. Democracy, Michael Saward
  7. Development, Anthony Payne and Nicola Phillips
  8. Disability, Colin Barnes and Geof Mercer
  9. Empire, Alejandro Colás
  10. Equality, Stuart White
  11. Ethnicity 2nd Edition, Steve Fenton
  12. Fundamentalism 2nd Edition, Steve Bruce
  13. Gender, Harriet Bradley
  14. Global Justice, Jon Mandle
  15. Governance, Anne Mette Kjær
  16. Health 2nd Edition, Mildred Blaxter
  17. Human Rights, Michael Freeman
  18. Justice, Harry Brighouse
  19. Liberalism, Paul Kelly
  20. The Market, Alan Aldridge
  21. Minority Rights, Jennifer Jackson Preece
  22. Nationalism, Anthony D. Smith
  23. Network Society, Darin Barney
  24. The People, Margaret Canovan
  25. Poverty, Ruth Lister
  26. Power, John Scott
  27. Risk, Jakob Arnold
  28. Time, Barbara Adam
  29. Trust, Russell Hardin
  30. Youth, Gill Jones

 

Forthcoming titles

  1. Garrett Wallace Brown, Cosmopolitanism
  2. Craig Calhoun, Community
  3. Costas M. Constantinou, Diplomacy
  4. Keith Dowding, Rational Choice
  5. Katrin Flikschuh, Freedom
  6. John Gearson, Terrorism
  7. James Gow, War
  8. Robert Jackson, Sovereignty
  9. Bob Jessop, The State
  10. Peter Jones, Toleration
  11. Keith Krause, Security
  12. Chandran Kukathas, Multiculturalism
  13. George Lawson, Revolution
  14. Christopher Phillipson, Ageing
  15. Lord Raymond Plant, Citizenship
  16. Kenneth Prandy, Social Mobility
  17. Timothy Sinclair, Global Governance