RECONCEPTUALISATION OF IMPERIALISM.docx (original) (raw)

Imperialism has been conceptualised variously using Roman political history as the overall framework. Conclusions sometimes arrived at portray imperialism as exploitation, averring aggression and inequality. Such conclusions, however, misrepresent Roman imperialism as they reflect only the appearance and not the substance. This is because imperialism has been principally considered from effect rather than cause, thus creating a generic perception and indifferentiation in the stream of world political history. If viewed rather through causality, imperialism in the Roman political history is genetic, indicating that differentiation exists in the extant paradigms of imperialism. This paper, therefore, considered imperialism with causal model within historical framework of ancient Rome and the United States of America and theoretical framework of realism, using relevant elements of European foreign policies as analytical foil. The paper is then able to establish that: existing perception of imperialism as exploitative is inadequate; imperialism has another perspective; Roman imperialism differs from others; existing definitions of imperialism do not correctly define it; its existing theories do not correctly explain it; imperialism cannot be judged from effects; and that the US history contains collateral Roman variables of imperialism, thereby forming a model with Rome. Imperialism is consequently reconceptualised with the Roman/US variables.