Imperialism Past and Present - Tapa dura

"How did imperialism become such a decisive factor in modern history? This insightful book uses both history and economics to address that great question. Ranging from Joseph Conrad and Adam Smith to Rwanda and the Arab Spring, it sheds new light on a force that continues to shape the world." -Stephen Kinzer, author of The Brothers and All the Shaw's Men "Imperialism Past and Present is essential reading for anyone interested in current events. A lucid book that returns a central category - imperialism - to our conversation about what otherwise appears to be random disasters in remote places." -Vijay Prashad, author of The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World "This superbly written, researched and argued book enables us to understand contemporary international relations through the lens of historical continuities. All students and scholars of these issues will benefit from reading it." -Padraig Carmody, author of The New Scramble for Africa "A wonderfully frank, lucid and irreverent primer. Sweeping with historical command from Thucydides through King Leopold to Dien Bien Phu, it is uniquely powerful when demonstrating why recent U.S. and European adventures - the bombing of Serbia, the invasion of Libya, the Rwandan genocide - should be grouped with the classical imperialisms of old. Sharp, feisty, and, in spite of everything, filled with hope." -Timothy Brennan, author of Wars of Position: The Cultural Politics of Left and Right "The concept of imperialism in international relations has fallen from academic fashion, but the practice of imperialism has continued uninterrupted. The post-2001 War on Terror has ushered in a whole new era of global interventions. Imperialism Past and Present does an excellent job of linking up present-day imperialism with earlier historical experiences, showing a broad continuity of imperial practices over long periods of time. This is a welcome addition to the international relations literature, bound to trigger much needed debate." -David Gibbs, author of First Do No Harm: Humanitarian Intervention and the Destruction of Yugoslavia

After a long hiatus, when it was seemingly banished to the wilderness of esoteric academic debate, imperialism is back as one of the buzzwords of the day. In the past decade in particular, scholars, policy-makers and political pundits have been using the term with increasing frequency in their commentary on contemporary international relations. Many have invoked it as an old specter only to nervously deny its contemporary applicability. Meanwhile, the term has continued to be applied to a diverse range of economic, political, cultural and linguistic phenomena. The sudden popularity of the term has created confusion about what it means and why we should care about it. Regardless of whether it is used as an invective or an ideal, imperialism has turned into an all-encompassing buzzword that many use, though few can really define.

Imperialism Past and Present seeks to clarify the prevailing confusion and provide a clear, concise account of imperialism, as well as to introduce readers to the fundamental logic, as well as the complex manifestations of imperialism. It also aims to offer a succinct review and interpretation of the complex experiences that constituted the history of imperialism. The authors contend that imperialism remains at the heart of recent events and ongoing processes that define contemporary politics, and they look at the way that it applies in the post-Cold War period.