Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism .
45-398: In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who often faced displacement, subjugation, slavery, rape and execution) was often as unapologetic as "because we can" treading on the philosophical grounds of might makes right . As political conceptions of the nation state evolved, especially in reference to
90-548: A New Roman Empire , based around the Mediterranean . Italy invaded Ethiopia as early as 1935, Albania in early 1938, and later Greece. Spazio vitale ("living space") was the territorial expansionist concept of Italian Fascism . It was analogous to Nazi Germany's concept of Lebensraum and the United States' concept of "Manifest Destiny". Fascist ideologist Giuseppe Bottai likened this historic mission to
135-494: A 2023 study, important historical instances of territorial expansion have frequently happened because actors on the periphery of a state have acted without authorization from their superiors at the center of the state. Leaders subsequently find it difficult to withdraw from the newly captured areas due to "sunk costs, domestic political pressure, and national honor." Every part of the world has experienced expansionism. The religious imperialism and colonialism of Islam started with
180-804: A Soviet advance into the Balkans. In Africa, the spazio vitale was to include large territories in North and East Africa. Regarding modern-day Italy as the heir to the Roman Empire, the Fascist regime utilized the precedent of historical Roman control of these territories to make land claims in North Africa. North Africa's coastline was regarded as of strategic importance to the Fascists' ambition of Mare Nostrum to allow Italy to dominate and control
225-520: A full invasion of Ukraine and annexed its southeastern provinces . Meanwhile, Russia has established domination over Belarus . The Russian state is also accused of neo-colonialism in Africa , mainly through the activities of the Wagner Group and Africa Corps . Turkey's foreign policy is characterized, especially since 2010s by an aggressive expansionism, irredentism and interventionism in
270-400: A method of gradual, non-military conquest in which they established suzerainty over their neighbours and then displaced their ruling dynasties . This concept was first systematized by Halil İnalcık . Conquests of this sort did not involve violent revolution but were a process of slow assimilation , established by bureaucratic means such as registers of population and resources as part of
315-642: A nation. Further expansion far beyond the American continent, in the Philippines , at the turn of the century which was driven by a paternalistic United States as McKinley's objectives, he declared in mid-1899, were fourfold: "Peace first, then a government of law and order honestly administered, full security to life, property, and occupation under the Stars and Stripes." However, the Philippines government
360-502: A religious destiny in the form of a Promised Land ), perhaps tinged with a self-interested pragmatism that targeted lands will eventually belong to the potential invader anyway. Ibn Khaldun wrote that newly established dynasties, because they have social cohesion or Asabiyyah , are able to seek "expansion to the limit." The Soviet economist Nikolai Kondratiev theorized that capitalism advances in 50-year expansion/stagnation cycles, driven by technological innovation. The UK, Germany,
405-421: A result of war, the conquerors taking whatever things of value they find. The desire for it has been one of the most common causes of war and conquest. In the formation of the modern state, the conspicuous immediate causes are the closely related facts of migration and conquest. The state has increased civilization and allowed increased cultural contact allowing for a cultural exchange and stimulus; frequently
450-603: A riot caused by the Mexican War. Many in the Cheyennes , Comanches, Kiowas, and Pawnees tribes died from smallpox in 1839–1840, measles and whooping cough in 1845, and cholera in 1849, which had been brought by American settlers. The buffalo herds, sparse grasses, and rare waters were also depleted following the war as increased traffic by settlers moving to California during the Gold Rush . The People's Republic of China
495-440: A steel industry that had not been achieved; Greece would benefit from trade with Italy, and Italy in turn would gain access to these resources. Hungary was of interest to be included because of its river harbours, tourism, large-scale production of agricultural machinery, electrical goods, pharmaceuticals, and timber. Romania was a target of Italy's ambitions that was included in plans promoted by Mussolini and Italy's Chief of
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#1732790683194540-473: A strong government can be maintained only through the unity of these two important facts. In other cases, especially when the conquerors create or maintain strong cultural or social institutions, the conquered culture could adopt norms or ideas from the conquering culture to expedite interactions with the new ruling class. These changes were often imposed on the conquered people by force, particularly during religiously motivated conquests . Scholars have debated
585-411: Is a significant influence of migration and conquest on political development and state formation. Conquest leading to migration has contributed to race mixture and cultural exchange. The latter points influence on conquest has been of far greater significance in the evolution of society. Conquest brings humans into contact, even though it is a hostile contact. Plunder has in all times and places been
630-750: Is accused of expansionism through its operations and claims in the South China Sea , which are concurrently claimed in part by Vietnam , the Philippines , Brunei , Malaysia and the Republic of China . Israel was established on May 14, 1948, following the end of World War II and the Holocaust . Its government has occupied the West Bank , the Gaza Strip , the Golan Heights , and
675-648: The Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean . It was to be divided into piccolo spazio ("small space"), which was to be inhabited only by Italians, and grande spazio ("large space") inhabited by other nations to be under the Italian sphere of influence . The nations in the grande spazio would be subjected to Italian rule and protection, but were to keep their own languages and cultures. Fascist ideologist Giuseppe Bottai likened this historic mission to
720-553: The Aztecs ; Incas ; the African Kingdoms Dahomey and Benin ; and the ancient civilizations of Egypt , Babylonia , Assyria and Persia all stand out as more militaristic than the less organized societies around them. Military adventures were on a larger scale and effective conquest for the first time became feasible. Military conquest has been one of the most persistent causes of human migrations . There
765-563: The Caucasus region were crushed. A Polish revolt in 1830 was ruthlessly crushed. Russian troops in 1848 crossed into Austria-Hungary to put down the Hungarian Revolt . Russification policies were implemented to weaken minority ethnic groups. Pan-Slavist solidarity led to further war with Turkey (the sick man of Europe ) in 1853 provoked Britain and France into invading Crimea . In Italy, Benito Mussolini sought to create
810-676: The Eastern Mediterranean and the neighboring Cyprus , Greece , Iraq , Syria , as well as in Africa , including Libya , and Nagorno-Karabakh . Turkey has occupied foreign territories and stationed troops in them, following the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus , the Turkish occupation of northern Syria since 2016 and the Turkish presence in northern Iraq since 2018. In the 19th century, theories of racial unity evolved such as Pan-Germanism , Pan-Slavism , and Pan-Turkism and
855-880: The Indian subcontinent , the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and various Muslim conquests , to mention just a few. The Norman conquest of England provides an example: it built on cultural ties, led to the subjugation of the Kingdom of England to Norman control and brought William the Conqueror to the English throne in 1066. Conquest may link in some ways with colonialism . England, for example, experienced phases and areas of Anglo-Saxon , Viking and Franco-Norman colonisation and conquest. The Ottomans used
900-616: The Japanese Empire , and the Balkans countries of Albania ( Greater Albania ), Bulgaria ( Greater Bulgaria ), Croatia ( Greater Croatia ), Hungary ( Greater Hungary ), Romania ( Greater Romania ) and Serbia ( Greater Serbia ). In American politics after the War of 1812 , Manifest Destiny was the ideological movement during America's expansion West . The movement incorporated expansionist nationalism with continentalism, with
945-547: The Mexican War in 1846–1848 being attributed to it. Despite championing American settlers and traders as the people whom the government's military would be aiding, the Bent, St. Vrain and Company stated to be the most influential Indian trading company prior to the Mexican War, underwent a decline because of the and of traffic from American settlers by Beyreis. The company also lost the partner Charles Bent on January 19, 1847, to
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#1732790683194990-532: The Nazis in Germany. Yet, the colonial imperialism inherent to the spazio vitale proposed by Benito Mussolini did not involve the genocide of the subjugated nations, but presented the Italian race as a custodian and bearer of superior civilization. As such, the ideological purpose of spazio vitale included the exportation of revolutionary fascism to replace the native political systems in order to civilise
1035-726: The Sinai Peninsula since the Six-Day War , although the Sinai was later returned to Egypt in 1982 and Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Israel also occupied southern Lebanon from February 1985 to May 2000. Iran , the largest Shi'ite state, has extended its influence across the entire Middle East, including Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan by arming local militias. Russia under Vladimir Putin has been described as expansionist, especially since
1080-407: The division of labour . Through conquest, society became divided into a ruling militant class and a subject industrial class. The regulative function devolved upon the conquering soldiers and operations side to the serfs and slaves. After a conquest where a minority imposes itself on a majority, it usually adopts the language and religion of the majority, through this force of numbers and because
1125-782: The early Muslim conquests , was followed by the religious Caliphate expansionisms, and ended with the Partition of the Ottoman Empire . In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ottoman Empire entered a period of expansion . The Ottomans ended the Eastern Roman Empire with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed the Conqueror . The militarist and nationalistic reign of Russian Czar Nicholas I (1825–1855) led to wars of conquest against Persia (1826–1828) and Turkey (1828–1829) . Various rebel tribes in
1170-639: The spazio vitale of its mineral wealth, and in particular its copper deposits in Bor. Bulgaria was to be incorporated into the spazio vitale in the Mediterranean once it had acquired its "rightful" outlet to the Aegean Sea, and would be a major trading partner with Italy due to its rapeseed and soya production, wine production, and chrome deposits. Greece was to be included, whereupon Italy would assist in developing Greece's natural resources and develop
1215-509: The 2010s. Putin said that the dissolution of the Soviet Union had "robbed" Russia of territories and made Russians "the biggest ethnic group in the world to be divided by borders", calling this an "outrageous historical injustice". Russia occupies parts of three neighboring countries . In 2008 Russia invaded Georgia and occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia . In 2014 it occupied and then annexed Crimea from Ukraine. In 2022 it launched
1260-628: The General Staff Alberto Pariani . In 1939, Pariani stated that Italian-supported military intervention in Romania would result in Romania ceding Transylvania to Hungary and southern Dobrudja to Bulgaria. Pariani in discussion with Hungarian officials repeated Mussolini's arguments that the Italian Army could militarily intervene against Yugoslavia and cross over its territory to seize Romania's oilfields and prevent
1305-669: The Sands portrays the threatening nature of the German Empire. Elspeth Huxley 's novel Red Strangers shows the effects on local culture of colonial expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa . Conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms . Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain , the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of
1350-476: The Soviet Union in 1941. Expansionist nationalism is an aggressive and radical form of nationalism that incorporates autonomous patriotic sentiments with a belief in expansionism. The term was coined during the late 19th century as European powers indulged in the Scramble for Africa , but it has been most associated with militarist governments during the 20th century including Fascist Italy , Nazi Germany ,
1395-676: The US, Japan and now China have been at the forefront of successive waves. Crane Brinton in The Anatomy of Revolution saw the revolution as a driver of expansionism in, for example, Stalinist Russia, the United States and the Napoleonic Empire. Christopher Booker believed that wishful thinking can generate a "dream phase" of expansionism such as in the European Union , which is short-lived and unreliable. According to
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1440-523: The conquered peoples into colonies of Fascist Italy. The Fascist ideologist Giuseppe Bottai said that the historic mission of spazio vitale was like that of Ancient Rome (753 BC – AD 476), and that the New Rome—the Italian Empire —would "illuminate the world with their art, educate it with their knowledge, and give robust structure to their new territories with their administrative technique and ability." Once under Roman hegemonic rule,
1485-566: The conquerors have taken over the culture of their subjects. With subjugation, further class distinctions arise. The conquered people are enslaved; thus the widest possible social classes are produced: the enslaved and the free. The slaves are put to work to support the upper classes, who regard war as their chief business. The state is in origin a product of war and exists primarily as an enforced peace between conquerors and conquered. From slavery and from conquest, another result of war, sprang differentiation of classes and occupations termed
1530-551: The decisive role of American expansionism. The free land enabled economic independence (as opposed to political dominance by landlords in Europe) and popular democracy in America. The success of expansionism led to a deep belief in the superiority of the "American way of life," as shown by how it attracted tens of millions of immigrants. Economic success was supplemented by the confidence that Anglo Saxons were simply better at governing
1575-479: The deeds of the ancient Romans , stating that the new Italians will "illuminate the world with their art, educate it with their knowledge, and give robust structure to their new territories with their administrative technique and ability". In the political philosophy of Italian Fascism , the concept of spazio vitale , which justified the colonial expansion of Italy, corresponded to the Lebensraum concept of
1620-584: The deeds of the ancient Romans . After 1937, Nazi Germany under Hitler laid claim to Sudetenland , unification ( Anschluss ) with Austria in 1938 and the occupation of the whole of the Czech lands the following year. After war broke out, Hitler and Stalin divided Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union . In a Drang nach Osten aimed at achieving Lebensraum for the German people, Germany invaded
1665-421: The existence of a norm against conquest since 1945. Conquest of large swaths of territory has been rare, but states have since 1945 continued to pursue annexation of small swaths of territory. Spazio vitale Spazio vitale ( Italian: [ˈspattsjo viˈtaːle] , "living space") was the territorial expansionist concept of Italian Fascism . It was defined in universal terms as "that part of
1710-510: The fact that in the late nineteenth century, men saw supporting the military as the ultimate test of being a man. As a result, expansionism was a way of projecting manliness onto the electorate and in to society. George Orwell 's satirical novel Animal Farm is a fictional depiction, based on Stalin 's Soviet Union, of a new elite seizing power, establishing new rules and hierarchies, and expanding economically while they compromise their ideals. Robert Erskine Childers 's novel The Riddle of
1755-575: The feudal timar system. The ancient civilized peoples conducted wars on a large scale that were, in effect, conquests. In Egypt the effects of invasion and conquest are to be seen in different racial types represented in paintings and sculptures. Improved agriculture production was not conducive to peace ; it allowed for specialization which included the formation of ever-larger militaries and improved weapon technology . This, combined with growth of population and political control, meant war became more widespread and destructive. Thus,
1800-426: The globe over which extends either the vital requirements or expansionary impetus of a state with strong unitary organization which seeks to satisfy its needs by expanding beyond its national boundaries". Spazio vitale was analogous to Nazi Germany's concept of Lebensraum . The territorial extent of the Italian spazio vitale was to cover the Mediterranean as a whole ( Mare Nostrum ) and Northern Africa from
1845-453: The inherent rights of the governed, more complex justifications arose. State-collapse anarchy , reunification or pan-nationalism are sometimes used to justify and legitimize expansionism when the explicit goal is to reconquer territories that have been lost or to take over ancestral lands. Lacking a viable historical claim of this nature, would-be expansionists may instead promote ideologies of promised lands (such as manifest destiny or
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1890-471: The related Turanism . In each case, the dominant nation (respectively, Prussia ; the Russian Empire ; and the Ottoman Empire , especially under Enver Pasha ) used those theories to legitimise their expansionist policies. In terms of explaining the results of American expansion, this goes back to the 19th century when Frederick Jackson Turner produced his Frontier Thesis which made the case for
1935-462: The subjugated peoples would be permitted to retain their native languages and cultures within the Italian Empire. The Fascist regime declared that the achievement of Italy's spazio vitale would be divided into three stages: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. The schedule for its achievement was accelerated due to the outbreak of World War II . In Europe, Italy's spazio vitale
1980-505: Was shared with the local political elite, which called for independence. In Washington Democrats rejected McKinley-style expansionism and in 1934 set the Philippines on the path to independence, which was achieved in 1946. It has also been posited that American leaders were pressured under traditional gender roles, which in turn made expansionism more likely. By the end of the 19th century President McKinley had been accustomed to being evaluated in terms of his manliness. This also played in to
2025-512: Was to include southeastern Europe. Italy's short-term plans involved the expansion of its grande spazio in southeastern Europe that was to include several nations. In 1941, Italy defined these plans. Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were valuable to Italy because of their timber reserves, cattle herds, and their rich deposits of carbon, lignite, iron, copper, chrome, manganese, pyrites, antimony, and mercury. Serbia , upon being territorially "reduced to its effective proportions", would be within
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