E mpires, D ecline and F all
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23591873 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Arpad Szakolczai (0000-0003-4472-5639, University College Cork, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Pages | 1-9 |
| Publication date | 2017-12-04 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/9781118430873.est0800 |
| OpenAlex | W4233758585 |
| ISBN | 9781118430873 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
Empires are large and ever expanding political entities that become engaged in the pursuit of unlimited extension, thereby incorporating different cultures and geographic areas. Empire‐building thus has important affinities with globalizing expansion, explaining the increasing contemporary interest in Gibbon's classic work about the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. In this entry, and following the best recent interpreters of Gibbon's undertaking and the Weber‐inspired historical theoretizations of Eisenstadt and Voegelin, the driving force of empire‐building is identified in an ever growing internal void that pushes a previously stable and flourishing entity toward the vain pursuit of unlimited growth.
Ancient history · Economic geography · Empire · Extension (predicate logic) · Flourishing · Geography · Political science · Politics · Roman Empire · Computer Science · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Law · Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
|---|