Domination
by one or more countries over others for political and economic objectives. It can be
effected by force of arms or through the economic and political power exercised by state
and corporate agencies.
Imperialism is sometimes organized in a formal empire, with a
ruling nation and colonized territories, but it can also exist where one nation or region
exercises dominant influence over international trade and investment, patterns of economic
development and mass communication.
Imperialism is the object-less disposition of a state to
expansion by force without assigned limits.
"It is not nonviolence if we merely love those that love
us. It is nonviolence only when we love those that hate us." Mahatma Gandhi
Liberal Theories
Imperialism is a policy choice, not an inevitable consequence of capitalism.
Marxist Theories
Imperialism also arises because increased concentration of wealth leads to
undeconsumption.
Political Theories
Imperialism is simply a manifestation of the balance of power and is the process by which
nations try to achieve a favorable change in the status quo. The purpose of imperialism is
to decrease the strategic and political vulnerability of a nation.
Social-Psychological Theories
Imperialism is objectless expansion, a pattern simply learned from the behavior of other
nations and institutionalized into the domestic political processes of a state by a
"warrior" class. This warrior class is created because of the need for defense,
but, over time, the class will manufacture reasons to perpetuate its existence, usually
through manipulation of crises. |