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Imperial Ends: The Decay, Collapse and Revival of Empires by Alexander J. Motyl PDF

By Alexander J. Motyl

ISBN-10: 0231121105

ISBN-13: 9780231121101

Despite their old value, empires have got scant recognition from social scientists. Now, Alexander J. Motyl examines the constitution, dynamics, and carrying on with relevance of empire -- and asks, "Why do empires decline? Why do a little empires cave in? And why do a little collapsed empires revive?"

Rejecting choice-centered theories of imperial decline, Motyl continues that the very constitution of empires promotes decay and that decay in flip enables the innovative lack of territory. even supposing so much significant empires have actually declined during this demeanour, a few, comparable to the Soviet Union, have collapsed without notice and comprehensively. Motyl explains how and why cave in happens, why such an final result is difficult to foresee, and why a few collapsed empires revive. whereas broad-ranging traditionally and empirically, Imperial Ends makes a speciality of 5 smooth empires: the Soviet, Romanov, Ottoman, Habsburg, and Wilhelmine.

Examining the potential of a revival of the Soviet empire, Motyl issues out that the growth of NATO and the ecu Union, in addition to expanding globalization, will isolate Russia and its buddies, selling their dependence upon each other and maybe facilitating the increase of the previous middle.

With boldly acknowledged conclusions and concise analytical interpretations, Imperial Ends cohesively illustrates to policymakers and social scientists alike the significance of attainable imperial revivals and the increase of destiny empires.

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Additional resources for Imperial Ends: The Decay, Collapse and Revival of Empires

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1 The Arab Parabola. Source: Rein Taagepera, “Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia,” International Studies Quarterly 41 (1997): 482. 42 Imperial Decay Area (Mm2) 25 0 1200 1300 1400 Note: 1 megameter ‫ ס‬1,000 km; 1 sq. megameter (Mm2) ‫ ס‬390,000 sq. miles. 2 The Mongol Parabola. Source: Rein Taagepera, “Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia,” International Studies Quarterly 41 (1997): 483. Area (Mm2) 10 5 0 1300 1500 1700 Note: 1 megameter ‫ ס‬1,000 km; 1 sq.

83 2. Attributing empire formation only to imperialism There is no reason that, logically, relations of dominance must be the product only of military expansion purposely intended to create empire. Reinhold Niebuhr puts it well: “The word ‘imperialism’ to the modern mind connotes aggressive expansion. The connotation remains correct in the sense that empire, in its inclusive sense, is the fruit of the impingement of strength upon weakness. But the power need not be expressed in military terms.

But from first to last it was Lenin. 68 Hook may or may not have proved his case, but that it is plausible and that Lenin was somehow critical, and surely not incidental, to the revolution is clearly true. 71 Even so, no one would dispute that structural accounts of empire do not sit well with emperors in general and charismatic emperors in particular. Extraordinary circumstances and ordinary structures approximate a crude eclecticism only if the former openly contradict the premises of the latter.

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Imperial Ends: The Decay, Collapse and Revival of Empires by Alexander J. Motyl


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