Patterns of Empire: The British and American Empires, 1688 to the Present

Julian Go

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511996559

Patterns of Empire comprehensively examines the two most powerful empires in modern history: the United States and Britain. Challenging the popular theory that the American empire is unique, Patterns of Empire shows how the policies, practices, forms and historical dynamics of the American empire repeat those of the British, leading up to the present climate of economic decline, treacherous intervention in the Middle East and overextended imperial confidence. A critical exercise in revisionist history and comparative social science, this book also offers a challenging theory of empire that recognizes the agency of non-Western peoples, the impact of global fields and the limits of imperial power.

Winner of the 2014 Francesco Guicciardini Prize for Best Book in Historical International Relations, International Studies Association

‘Rigorously thought out, lucidly written, and empirically insightful, Julian Go’s work dispatches arguments that the United States has not been an empire and sets out convincingly the changing nature of that empire. Far from being just a demonstration of what ought to have been obvious before now – the role of empire in American history – Go advances our understanding of the trajectory of empire and informs contemporary debates about the future of the United States and its global hegemony. This is a stunning application of transnational and comparative methods of analysis.’

Ian Tyrrell - Scientia Professor of History, University of New South Wales

‘Julian Go’s book is, simply, in a different league from almost all previous work in the field. Combining close historical analysis with conceptual rigor, joining the skills and strengths of the historian with those of the social scientist, this is a project of striking originality.’

Stephen Howe - University of Bristol

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Patterns of Empire

The British and American Empires, 1688 to the Present

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-v

Contents
pp vii-viii

Preface and Acknowledgments
pp ix-xii

List of Tables
pp xiii-xiv

List of Figures
pp xv-xvi

Introduction
pp 1-27

1 - Imperial Paths to Power, 1688–1939
pp 28-66

2 - Colonial Rules
pp 67-102

3 - Hegemonies and Empires
pp 103-132

4 - Imperial Forms, Global Fields
pp 133-165

5 - Weary Titans
pp 166-205

6 - The Dynamics of Imperialism
pp 206-234

7 - Conclusion
pp 235-246

Appendix - Notes on Data
pp 247-248

Archives and Abbreviations
pp 249-250

References
pp 251-282

Index
pp 283-286

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Patterns of Empire

The British and American Empires, 1688 to the Present

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