The Reluctant Imperialists: Status Dynamics and Territory in Africa

• In Event: New Research on Territorial Conquest, Expansion, and Empire

Abstract

Prior research has shown that imperialism, and territorial expansion more broadly, is often motivated by a desire to augment the status of states that have experienced a recent humiliating international event. This paper will focus on the systemic effects of such status-motivated expansion. The paper will assess the conditions under which such expansionary acts are likely to set off international races for status in which the value that states place on new territorial holdings is rooted in perceptions of the value that other states place on the territory rather than on any innate quality of the territory itself. The dynamics of such international races for status are examined within the latter stage of the Scramble for Africa when the competition for African territory adopted the “character of a steeplechase.” During this period, European states often reluctantly acquired increasingly large swathes of African territory in large part because they feared that a failure to do so would result in their demotion within the international status hierarchy.

Author

• Joslyn N. Barnhart, Wesleyan University