Imperialism - Analysis And Critical Response
ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL RESPONSE
The last phase in the expansion of the imperial power of the European states after 1870 was so spectacular that it sparked a major controversy about the reasons for it. A number of explanations were offered at that time, and subsequently by historians.
The most obvious was that they conquered other countries because they had the power to do so. This theory of "the pursuit of power" was advanced by Hans J. Morgenthau in his textbook on international relations, Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. This pursuit of power had been common behavior by states since the Neolithic revolution. The disparity in power between the Europeans and others was for long so great that it made imperial conquest very cheap. The "lust for power" inherent in the state, particularly its military forces, provided a culture within which conquest could be justified by the security and...
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