Empires of the Mind: The Colonial Past and the Politics of the Present

The Wiles Lectures

by Robert Gildea

'The empires of the future would be the empires of the mind' declared Churchill in 1943, envisaging universal empires living in peaceful harmony. Robert Gildea exposes instead the brutal realities of decolonisation and neo-colonialism which have shaped the postwar world. Even after the rush of French and British decolonisation in the 1960s, the strings of economic and military power too often remained in the hands of the former colonial powers. The more empire appears to have declined and fallen, the more a fantasy of empire has been conjured up as a model for projecting power onto the world stage and legitimised colonialist intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. This aggression, along with the imposition of colonial hierarchies in metropolitan society, has excluded, alienated and even radicalised immigrant populations. Meanwhile, nostalgia for empire has bedevilled relations with Europe and played a large part in explaining Brexit.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, British Literature, The World

366 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 2019

About the author

Robert Nigel Gildea is professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford and is the author of several influential books on 20th century French history.

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Empire, then, has been a fantasy of glory and a chronicle of anguish. As an empire of the mind, it continues to be both. And yet in the twenty-first century, in order to move forward, European countries must recognize the anguish caused by empire and lay to rest fantasies of rebuilding empire in ever more dubious reincarnations."

That in essence is the message of this splendid look at the past of British and French empires and how they resonate in today's politics. The part about 'today's' politics is always the weakest parts of books like this. Although published in 2019 who knew then how much things would change. This is book is pre COVID and pre president Trump's first term in office. It doesn't invalidate anything he says it just means that the immediacy of events he discusses or uses as background has changed. That Robert Gildea is too good a historian to write the fallacious nonsense of Neal Ferguson in 'Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World'. In particular it is his bracketing of the British and French empires together is this examination which is one of the works strengths:

"The anguish of losing an empire and the fantasy of rediscovering it came to a head with the referendum in 2016. Britain, it was said, would leave the European Union but she would not be alone. She would rediscover her past as a 'swashbuckling [...] buccaneer nation'...commune again with the 'Anglosphere' of the white Dominions which she had cruelly betrayed in 1973 but which had always been kith and kin and spoke the same language. She would found an empire 2.0 with countries like India, once the Raj, now partners, but also linked by deep historical connection and understanding. France meanwhile, under Emmanuel Macron, brought up with no memories of the French empire, was able to draw France's twenty-first century ambitions on a blank slate. He apologised for colonialism as a 'crime against humanity' in order to placate those who condemned France's colonial past but moved swiftly on in order not to antagonise those who were still nostalgic for it. He jettisoned the baggage of imperial fantasy while promoting strategic projects in Africa and reviving the concept of Francophonie in which France was once more amongst equals..."

The above excerpt from near the close of the book (page 261) neatly sets out much of the book's message and premise. It is very much a work emerging from the post Brexit vote. W.H. Auden referred to the 1930s as a 'low dishonest decade' but 'low and dishonest' describes better the tawdry years of May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak (all PM within the space of eight years!) but then Emmanuel Macron has suffered some serious setbacks as well.

This is a brilliant introduction to both the history, evolution demise and afterlife of both British and French empires. What is most fascinating is the arrogance and ignorance countries like the UK display about their 'empire' and particularly the idea that places like India, or Canada, Australia, etc. have any serious interest in attaching themselves as trading or political partners to the moribund UK. It is obvious what the UK fantasists see in trying to resurrect their attachments to the 'white' Dominions (of course those longing to resurrect attachments show no interest in the UK's oldest former white colonial possession, Ireland, nor in Northern Ireland an integral part of the UK) but what is in it for Canada, Australia or New Zealand? Never mind India! Seriously do they imagine places like India are waiting to be patronised again by ignorant public school products?

Overall a good book, but its history is better then its immediate conclusions.

[Steff · Rating 5 out of 5]

An in-depth and very extensive overview and discussion on British, French, and US imperialist domestic and foreign policy. The amount of information in this book and how detailed it is presented is impressive. I thought I already knew a lot about the ways in which these countries have successfully and unsuccessfully pursued global dominance by setting up their colonial and neocolonial world order, and what consequences this behaviour has had on the sustainability of both the ‘motherland’ and the ‘territories’. Yet, this book truly taught me a great deal with countless detailed case studies, which put everything even further into perspective. Highly recommend reading this book to anyone. Be prepared for a long read though, as it is quite a dense read thar requires time for digestion at times.