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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2021

Andrew Phillips
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
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Summary

This chapter introduces the book’s central puzzle, makes the case for considering Western imperialism through systematic comparison with its Asian predecessors and contemporaries, and previews the book’s central argument. I argue that the literature on international hierarchy and empires has neglected critical parallels between Western and Asian empire-building in the early modern period. Mughal, Manchu and British empire-builders each confronted significant barriers to conquest, in the form of cultural marginality and demographic insignificance relative to indigenous majorities. Each consequently relied on strategies of define and conquer and define and rule to mobilize the vast multicultural coalitions needed for large-scale territorial expansion. These parallels in turn yielded empires that foregrounded the management of cultural diversity – through the incorporation of difference rather than its assimilation – as the chief feature of imperial rule.

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How the East Was Won
Barbarian Conquerors, Universal Conquest and the Making of Modern Asia
, pp. 1 - 21
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Introduction
  • Andrew Phillips, University of Queensland
  • Book: How the East Was Won
  • Online publication: 01 October 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316343272.002
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  • Introduction
  • Andrew Phillips, University of Queensland
  • Book: How the East Was Won
  • Online publication: 01 October 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316343272.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Andrew Phillips, University of Queensland
  • Book: How the East Was Won
  • Online publication: 01 October 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316343272.002
Available formats
×