LCDR SEMPLE
24OCT2016
HH216
During the 19th century, Imperialism hit a feverish pitch. Oxford Dictionary defines imperialism as the policy of extending a country’s power and influence through colonization, the use of military force, or other means1. The instruments of national power include diplomacy, information, military, and economics. Uniquely, the one instrument that had the most impact on imperialism is information; information is the primary force that shapes diplomatic, economic, and military involvement around the world. Additionally, it is utilized to shape events, strategies, national will, and international perceptions2.
Another key point, the control of information enables the …show more content…
The control of information by any country enables said country to more effectively control the other three instruments of power i.e. diplomacy, military, and economy. Furthermore, in Sun Tzu’s Art of War, he focuses on the importance of developing good information sources and specifies the five types of intelligence sources and how to best manage each of them. Consequently, Sun Tzu iterates quality information derives from an excellent spy network. Additionally, another aspect of European expansion in the last half of the 19th century involved the emigration of large numbers of Europeans to other parts of the world. In particular, European population had been increasing more rapidly than non-European populations during this time. Consequently, population pressure combined with improved overseas transportation led to the greatest migration in history up to that time. Notably, the ease with which Europeans dominated non-European areas of the world is explained by the power they had resulting from industrialization and the nation-state organization; the explanations that Europeans made to themselves were that they were superior to non-European peoples. Moreover, there were a number of racist ideas widely believed by Europeans. Namely, one variation was Rudyard Kipling's idea of the White Man's Burden. The white man had the burden and responsibility of bringing the blessings of their superior civilization to the savages of the non-European world. Likewise, European civilization experienced a period of unprecedented rapid expansion around the globe during the last third of the nineteenth century; European nation-states had become very powerful because of industrialization and because of the organizational efficiency of the nation-state. Nevertheless, racism was a virulent motivating force in 19th century Europe, which boded ill for the