Linkages Between Economic and Military Imperialism

Abstract

Much has been written both about economic and military manifestations of empire, but there are fewer examinations of how the two are interconnected. This article explores five forms of linking motivations by which economic imperialism escalates into military interventions: resource covetous, enterprise-specific, system protective, empire share, and military-industrialist linkages. The first three types describe how imperial relations between empires and client states may lead military interventions in the latter by the former to ensure control of critical resources, corporate dominance of a client state's land or industry, or to safeguard global capitalism itself. Empire share linkages are reflected when conflict among imperialist countries themselves develops into wars among core countries, while military-industrial linkages are when the interests of the arms and related industries themselves become a motivation for military interventions. These connections are not mutually exclusive, and each may be manifested to a lesser or greater degree in various imperialist interventions simultaneously.

"Keep the fight unfair": Military rhetoric in quantum technology

“…The term imperialism describes political and cultural setups where one territory exerts ruling force over another; modern imperialism is often enacted through coups backed by foreign powers and corporations who extract materials and profits for the benefit of Western countries (Said, 1994;Harvey, 2003). America in particular maintains its power in large part through violent military interventions for the purpose of controlling resource extraction (Butler, 1935;Mitchell, 2009;Christiansen, 2020;Forde, 2014;Harvey, 2003). Anti-imperialism opposes all aspects of imperialism, including the immense, resource-intensive, technologically advanced American military.…”

“…Modern warfare kills, injures, and displaces millions around the globe annually with enormous environmental cost (Belcher et al, 2020;Benjamin and Davies, 2018;Mohanty et al, 2008). Many of these wars are started by nations with imperial interests, like the United States of America (Immerwahr, 2019;Christiansen, 2020;Harvey, 2003). To consider the ethics of new technologies, the question of whether and how they may be used to support militarized empire is critical.…”

Civic Duty And The Empire: Images And Metaphors In Us Media Mythologies

“…The interaction of the media and the state in the course of "small wars" and asymmetric conflicts of our time has long been the subject of close study by specialists of various profiles (Christiansen, 2020).…”