Theories of empire

THEORIES OF EMPIRE

Robert Jackson, former MEP and MP: Higher Education and Science, Vocational Education and Public Service, United Kingdom

This course will seek to establish introductory definitions on the one hand of ‘Empire’ and on the other of ‘theory’, based on an analysis of the history of the uses of both of these notions, primarily in the context of Western cultures, but also in Eastern and other cultures. The second lecture will discuss and assess the various versions, Eastern and Western, of the ‘theory of Empire as world order’. The next lecture will similarly discuss and assess ‘theories of Empire as the will of God’. The concluding lecture will discuss and assess three ‘scientific theories of Empire’, first as ‘cybernetic’ in respect of inter-state relations considered as a system, then as ‘the last stage of capitalism’, and finally as arising from ‘struggle for life’ between races.

LECTURE TITLES

1. Empire and theory

2. Empire as world order

3. Empire and the will of God

4. Empire and scientific theories

This course will be offered on the Microsoft Teams platform. Participants will be sent a link.