Culture and Anti-Imperialism

Abstract

In this chapter, I want to use the history of anti-imperialism as an example of why culture deserves greater appreciation among those who write the history of international relations. While anti-imperialism is a minor topic in the history of U.S. foreign relations in comparison to the huge amount of attention paid to empire, over the past few centuries anti-imperialism has overtaken empire to become the ascendant historical force. My argument will elaborate on three themes. First, it will underscore something that is often ignored or minimized: that imperialism, long a basic fact of life on the international scene, has been decisively dethroned in recent times. Second, it will try to explain why some deep-seated scholarly dispositions have prevented anti-imperialism, a key ingredient of this sea change, from receiving its due recognition from scholars. And finally, it will suggest that a cultural explanation is best suited to setting things right, not only with respect to anti-imperialism but to the study of international relations more generally.