Rational Empires: Institutional Incentives and Imperial Expansion

230 Pages·2012·2.258 MB·English

by  Leo J. Blanken

Rational Empires

Rational Empires
Institutional Incentives and
Imperial Expansion
leo j. blanken
the university of chicago press chicago and london
leo J. Blanken is assistant professor in the Department of Defense Analysis at the
Naval Postgraduate School.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2012 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2012.
Printed in the United States of America
21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5
isbn-13: 978-0-226-05673-9 (cloth)
isbn-13: 978-0-226-05674-6 (paper)
isbn-10: 0-226-05673-2 (cloth)
isbn-10: 0-226-05674-0 (paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blanken, Leo J. (Leo James)
Rational empires : institutional incentives and imperial expansion / Leo J. Blanken.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-226-05673-9 (cloth : alkaline paper)
isbn-13: 978-0-226-05674-6 (paperback : alkaline paper)
isbn-10: 0-226-05673-2 (cloth : alkaline paper)
isbn-10: 0-226-05674-0 (paperback : alkaline paper) 1. Imperialism. 2. Acquisition
of territory. 3. Europe—Territorial expansion—History—19th century. 4. Europe—
Colonies—Africa, Central—History. 5. Africa, Central—Colonization. 6. Great
Britain—Territorial expansion—History—19th century. 7. Great Britain—Colonies—
India—History. 8. India—Colonization. 9. China—Foreign relations—19th century.
I. Title.
jc359.B53 2012
325′.32–dc23
2011039503
This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
This book is dedicated with much love to my mother, Helen,
my father, Jerome, my wife, Ginger, and our puppy, Jeeves.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
chapter 1. The Enduring Puzzles of Formal Imperialism 1
chapter 2. An Institutional Theory of Formal Imperialism 26
chapter 3. The Curiously Courteous Scramble:
The Case of Tropical Africa 51
chapter 4. Failing to Carve the Dragon:
The Case of Qing Dynasty China 82
chapter 5. From Plunder to Public Goods:
The Case of British India 111
chapter 6. Conclusions: The Past and Future of
Rational Empires 139
Appendix: An Institutional Model of Imperialism 159
Notes 167
Works Cited 175
Index 209

Acknowledgments
Ih ave amassed many debts in the process of writing this book. The
largest is to Scott Gartner, whom I thank for reading many drafts and
offering invaluable guidance and encouragement. Next is Jason Lepore,
both for his comments on the formal model and for trying fruitlessly to
teach me to do a proper clean-and-jerk. Emily Goldman provided much
support in general and good counsel on the empirical chapters in partic-
ular. I thank Frank Zagare, Randy Siverson, Daniel Kono, Patricia Sul-
livan, Michael Koch, Michael Rocca, Michael Freeman, Andrews Ruis,
and Heather Gregg for reading all or parts of the manuscript and of-
fering sound advice. I thank Frank Cogliano, Steve Dunaway, Matthew
Gurwitz, Jody Johnson, Vadim Keyser, Maggie Lepore, Peter Moon
(Soul Lotto), Justin Overbaugh, Jessica Piombo, Salvador Puente, Jenni-
fer Ramos, Peter Regan, Jay Shuttleworth, Arturo Sotomayor, and Eliz-
abeth Wing for their support. Aaron Pryor, Irma Thomas, Micky Ward,
Betty Harris, and Osbourne Ruddock provided inspiration. Finally, I
thank Ginger “Don’t roll your eyes at me!” Blanken for her honesty and
sincere encouragement.
Material support was provided by a number of organizations. I am
grateful to the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation for supporting an
early phase of this research with a generous grant. The theoretical model
benefi ted greatly from participation in the National Science Foundation’s
“Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models” workshop held at Duke
University as well as the Merriam Laboratories Junior-Master Class held
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The research design
was created while attending the Institute on Qualitative Research Meth-
ods held at Arizona State University. The University of California Wash-
ington Center kindly afforded me the space and resources to complete