empire

empire, major political unit in which the metropolis, or single sovereign authority, exercises control over territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples through formal annexations or various forms of informal domination.

The nature and evolution of empire

Empire has been a characteristic form of political organization since early antiquity and predates colonial rule by several centuries. The notion of empire also has outlasted the era of colonialism. Nonetheless, the colonial legacy still haunts former colonial empires and their erstwhile colonies. Many empires, however, were symbols of peace and prosperity, rather than of oppression and exploitation.

Studies of empires show that control within them can be based on incentives rather than coercion or on a combination of both. It can be exercised through a variety of military, economic, and cultural means. It can be formal or informal to varying degrees. The status of entities and individuals on the periphery of empires can also differ. Some peripheral actors are given access to the decision making and resources of the metropolis or sovereign authority, whereas others are kept at a distance or even subject to open discrimination and exploitation. The relationship between metropolis and periphery can be hierarchical and conflict ridden, but it can also be harmonious and based on mutual dependency, with some empires forming quite loose multiple independencies.

The nature of both metropolis and peripheral actors can also differ. In most cases, the metropolis has a centralized government, differentiated economy (separation of producers and consumers), and shared political loyalties, whereas the peripheries have weak government, undifferentiated economies, and highly divided political loyalties. However, the imperial metropolis can also have a relatively weak, limited, and decentralized government; an inefficient economic system; and multiple cultural identities. For instance, medieval empires had limited and decentralized governments performing only a few basic governmental functions. They were ridden by internal conflicts between king (or emperor) and lower aristocracy (whether feudal or bureaucratic), whereas the persistent divergence of local cultures, religions, and traditions implied highly divided political loyalties.

The metropolis does not always have a master plan of imperial conquest. States can become empires by default because they try to bring some order to unstable neighbors or try to convert “barbarians” into “good” citizens or to a specific religion. Likewise, an empire does not necessarily come into being through outright aggression. Some empires emerge quietly or even surreptitiously through uneven modernization and social differentiation. They may not even see themselves as empires.

Different historical periods have generated different types of empires. Alexander the Great built his empire and brought a multitude of nationalities under his central authority largely by the use of military force. The Roman Empire relied far more on peaceful methods, using language and law in the service of its civilizing effort. The Chinese Han Empire was renowned for its administrative skills, enabling it to keep diverse and autonomous provinces under a single rule. The British Empire, like those of France, Portugal, and Spain, used its maritime power and supremacy in global trade. The Soviet Empire skillfully applied ideological penetration alongside the older military, political, and economic techniques of empire building.

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21st century empires

The “end of empire” has been declared several times throughout history, but at the beginning of the 21st century it looked as if empires were on the rise rather than in decline. The United States, China, the European Union (EU), and Russia all have been described as empires. All four represent vast territorial units with global influence in material, institutional, and ideological terms. They possess not only global economic and military reach but also the ability to influence the global institutional agenda and shape the notion of legitimacy in various parts of the world. In addition, it can be argued that all four have acted in ways that have imposed significant domestic constraints on a variety of formally sovereign entities, viewing them as a kind of periphery to be governed by the imperial center. (China and Russia also contain peripheries within their own borders, notably Tibet and Chechnya, respectively.)

Moreover, the policies of the United States, China, the EU, and Russia have been guided not merely by their selfish interests but also—if not primarily—by a “civilizing mission” to benefit their region if not the entire world, missions reminiscent of the Pax Romana or the old Chinese Mandate of Heaven. Putatively the United States has sought to maintain global order and forward an economic project consistent with forces of modernization. The EU sees itself as a pole of attraction for its neighbors, contributing to a fairer, safer, and more united world. Meanwhile, contemporary Russia views itself as a bastion against the barbarian forces of chaos, nationalism, and religious fundamentalism flourishing in its backyard.

However, there are significant, and in some cases striking, differences among these four contemporary empires. There is a striking contrast between an autocratic, nationalistic, and militaristic Russia and the peculiar postmodern polity that is the EU, with no single center of government and no army. Nor is there an American equivalent of a subjected inner periphery like Tibet, Xinjiang, and what China calls Inner Mongolia. However, some of those who study empire argue that the United States tends to treat the entire world as its periphery. Its scope of territorial influence is truly global. Although control by the United States is usually informal, it is backed up by enormous military and economic might.

Japan, India, Brazil, South Africa, and Germany also may be seen as empires of a sort. Japan’s reluctance to reassume an imperial posture is telling, more a function of historical memory than of military capability. Nevertheless, contemporary Japan, like China and India, shows signs of a “middle kingdom” mentality—a belief that the world revolves around it. Ultimately, empires may rise and fall even while the criteria for defining them are under discussion.