Beyond empires' explores the complexity of empire building from the point of view of self-organized networks, rather than from the point of view of the central state. This focus takes readers into a world of cooperative strategies worldwide that emphasises the role played by individuals, rather...

Intro -- Beyond Empires: Global, Self-Organizing, Cross-Imperial Networks, 1500-1800 -- Copyright -- Contents -- General Editor's Foreword -- List of Figures and Tables -- List of Contributors -- Introduction -- 1: The Evolution of Norms in Trade and Financial Networks in the First Global Age:...

How it began: Great Britain and the developing world. The East India company -- Informal empire: Argentina; Egypt; China -- Varieties of colonialism: India, Nigeria -- How it continues: the United States and the developing world. Seeking influence abroad: Caribbean, Pacific Asia -- Fighting...

Throughout the twentieth century, the U.S. government willingly deployed power, hard and soft, to protect American investments all around the globe. Why did the United States get into the business of defending its citizens' property rights abroad? The Empire Trap looks at how modern U.S....