Hemmed in: on the representation of imperial defeat

Smith, A. (2012) Hemmed in: on the representation of imperial defeat. Race and Class, 53(4), pp. 1-23. (doi: 10.1177/0306396811433096)

Abstract

This essay considers the way in which instances of defeat have been discussed, represented and put to use in the context of the history of modern imperialism. It argues that the response to moments of defeat has often been crucial in justifying the further expansion of imperial control, as well as in mobilising popular sympathy in support of imperial action. What is appealed to, in such representations, is often not an idea of strategic or economic interest as such, but a less easily defined or contested idea of honour or valour. The long historical roots of this idea reveal, apart from anything else, just how far empire was the context for a rapprochement between a newer and an older elite.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Smith, Professor Andrew
• Authors: Smith, A.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
• Journal Name: Race and Class
• ISSN: 0306-3968
• ISSN (Online): 1741-3125
• Published Online: 01 January 2012