This piece is in continuation of the recently published columns titled “Not if, But When” and “New World Disorder”. Students of history would know that, like all empires that rose to their apex in the past and then withered away, survival was ensured by constantly engaging in imperialism under various guises, with economic exploitation of conquered lands as the real strategic objective. The greatest empires in history, defined by territorial size, population, and lasting influence, reshaped global civilisation. The colonial British Empire was one of the largest in history (c. 1922), covering 13.7 million square miles, while the Mongol Empire (13th–14th centuries) was the largest contiguous land empire. Other dominant powers included the Roman Empire, the Caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the Ottoman, French, Spanish, Achaemenid (Persian), Russian and Qing empires. All these were either contiguous land empires or maritime/colonial empires, which thrived on trade control, significant cultural and technological exchanges in many cases, and military strength and conflict, though often at great human cost. The USA possesses all the attributes of past empires and has far surpassed them in economic, military and technological fields, alongside a vast geographical expanse under direct or indirect control and influence.

Punjab announces free bus service across Lahore for Basant 2026

Imperialism is the maintenance and extension of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard and soft power. The end of the Second World War resulted in the demise of the colonial powers of the previous two centuries and the rise of a new global superpower, namely the USA, which was faintly contested by the former USSR until 1991. The US found it expedient to maintain its........

© The Nation