an article by J.C. Sharman (University of Cambridge, UK) published in European Journal of International Relations Volume 24 Issue 3 (September 2018)
Abstract
This article critiques explanations of the rise of the West in the early modern period premised on the thesis that military competition drove the development of gunpowder technology, new tactics, and the Westphalian state, innovations that enabled European trans-continental conquests.
Even theories in International Relations and other fields that posit economic or social root causes of Western expansion often rely on this “military revolution” thesis as a crucial intervening variable. Yet, the factors that defined the military revolution in Europe were absent in European expeditions to Asia, Africa, and the Americas, and conventional accounts are often marred by Eurocentric biases.
Given the insignificance of military innovations, Western expansion prior to the Industrial Revolution is best explained by Europeans’ ability to garner local support and allies, but especially by their deference to powerful non-Western polities.
Full text (PDF 23pp)
Showing posts with label empire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label empire. Show all posts
Thursday, 20 September 2018
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Can Theories of Empire Explain the American Political Response to the Financial Crisis?
an article by Brandon Tozzo (Queen’s University, Canada) published in Critical Sociology Volume 39 Number 1 (January 2013)
Abstract
The repercussions of the 2008 financial crisis, which began in the USA, were felt around the world: credit markets froze, consumer demand collapsed, and major banks and industries required government money to avoid bankruptcy.
Given the severity of the crisis and the American Government’s unprecedented intervention in the economy, the financial crisis presents an ideal case for a critical reassessment of major theories of empire.
There are three prominent, yet distinct, views of empire that will be examined in this article.
The first is the Empire offered by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri.
The second theory of empire is that of Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin.
Finally, there is David Harvey’s ‘new imperialism’.
The purpose of this article is to challenge several limitations in each theory of empire, and to conclude that Harvey’s ‘new imperialism’ provides the greatest insight into the USA’s immediate responses to the economic crisis.
Abstract
The repercussions of the 2008 financial crisis, which began in the USA, were felt around the world: credit markets froze, consumer demand collapsed, and major banks and industries required government money to avoid bankruptcy.
Given the severity of the crisis and the American Government’s unprecedented intervention in the economy, the financial crisis presents an ideal case for a critical reassessment of major theories of empire.
There are three prominent, yet distinct, views of empire that will be examined in this article.
The first is the Empire offered by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri.
The second theory of empire is that of Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin.
Finally, there is David Harvey’s ‘new imperialism’.
The purpose of this article is to challenge several limitations in each theory of empire, and to conclude that Harvey’s ‘new imperialism’ provides the greatest insight into the USA’s immediate responses to the economic crisis.
Friday, 18 May 2012
Saving civilization from empire: Belligerency, pacifism and the two faces of civilization during the Second Opium War
an article by Andrew Phillips (University of Queensland, Australia) published in European Journal of International Relations Volume 18 Number 1 (March 2012)
Abstract
Conventional accounts of international society’s expansion have traditionally emphasized the role played by ‘civilizing missions’ in facilitating and legitimating European aggression and imperial expansion.
Conversely, in this article, I demonstrate that the relationship between imperial violence and the rhetoric of ‘civilizing missions’ was far more contested and contingent than International Relations scholars have generally assumed.
Using the parliamentary debate surrounding Britain’s involvement in the Second Opium War as a case study, I reveal that civilizational rhetoric in the 1857 ‘China debate’ was equally implicated in both anti-imperialist and imperialist agendas. Richard Cobden’s victory in the debate over Palmerston’s pro-war ministry further illustrates the political potency of appeals to civilization as a brake – however temporary – on Britain’s imperial expansion.
An appreciation of civilization’s janus-faced character – as a rhetorical commonplace that at different times abetted and inhibited imperial aggression – is therefore critical if we are to comprehend the halting and arrhythmic pattern of international society’s progressive expansion under British leadership in the mid-Victorian period.
Hazel’s comment:
I can almost hear you asking what on earth this article has to do with careers information. My justification, should one be required by the discerning reader, is that China is an increasingly important player in the global economy and Britain’s involvement in that country appears to play a part in political attitudes today.
Not, of course, that ethics or politics is allowed to get in the way of making money!
Abstract
Conventional accounts of international society’s expansion have traditionally emphasized the role played by ‘civilizing missions’ in facilitating and legitimating European aggression and imperial expansion.
Conversely, in this article, I demonstrate that the relationship between imperial violence and the rhetoric of ‘civilizing missions’ was far more contested and contingent than International Relations scholars have generally assumed.
Using the parliamentary debate surrounding Britain’s involvement in the Second Opium War as a case study, I reveal that civilizational rhetoric in the 1857 ‘China debate’ was equally implicated in both anti-imperialist and imperialist agendas. Richard Cobden’s victory in the debate over Palmerston’s pro-war ministry further illustrates the political potency of appeals to civilization as a brake – however temporary – on Britain’s imperial expansion.
An appreciation of civilization’s janus-faced character – as a rhetorical commonplace that at different times abetted and inhibited imperial aggression – is therefore critical if we are to comprehend the halting and arrhythmic pattern of international society’s progressive expansion under British leadership in the mid-Victorian period.
Hazel’s comment:
I can almost hear you asking what on earth this article has to do with careers information. My justification, should one be required by the discerning reader, is that China is an increasingly important player in the global economy and Britain’s involvement in that country appears to play a part in political attitudes today.
Not, of course, that ethics or politics is allowed to get in the way of making money!
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