Yu Keping: The Path to the Peak of Empire—The Political Logic of the British Empire
About the Author: Yu Keping is the Chair Professor of Political Science at Peking University, Director of the Chinese Political Science Research Center at Peking University, Dean of the Institute of Urban Governance at Peking University, and Dean of the School of Government at Shenzhen University.
The glory of the British Empire is unparalleled. From every angle, the British Empire has reached the pinnacle of empires in history. Why did such an empire rise, and why did it eventually decline? From the novel perspective of politics and governance, this article analyzes the factors that led to the rise, glory, and decline of the empire, and reveals the political logic of the rise and decline of the British Empire, which is thought-provoking. The details of this article are yet to be commented upon.
Abstract
In the history of world empire development, the British Empire established the most complete and developed global colonial system. No matter from the perspective of territorial area, population, military strength, comprehensive national strength, scientific and technological level, or international influence, the British Empire has reached the pinnacle of what any empire in history can achieve. The factors that contributed to the rise of the British Empire include not only hard power such as science and technology, productivity level, and military strength, but also soft power such as national quality, governance level, and political and economic system. The representative democratic system established after the “Glorious Revolution” successively triggered the scientific and technological revolution and the industrial revolution, greatly liberating the productive forces of society and making Britain the earliest industrialized power in world history. This was a decisive factor in the peak of the British Empire. However, the logic of democratic politics is essentially opposite to the logic of imperial politics, and the development of democratic politics will inevitably lead to the demise of imperial politics. The prosperity of the British Empire stemmed from the emergence of representative democracy, and the disintegration of the British Empire stemmed from the progress of democratic politics. The British Empire is the last in the history of world empires. It serves as an important warning to future generations: any dream of pursuing imperial hegemony runs counter to the trend of human democracy and progress, and will certainly be abandoned by mainstream human civilization.
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