Imperialism, as defined by The Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination."
The term 'imperialism' should not be confused with ‘colonialism’ as it often is. Edward Said suggests that imperialism involved “the practice, the theory and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan centre ruling a distant territory’”. He goes on to say colonialism refers to the “implanting of settlements on a distant territory”. Robert Young supports this thinking as he puts forward that imperialism operates from the center, it is a state policy, and is developed for ideological as well as financial reasons whereas colonialism is nothing more than development for settlement or commercial intentions.
The Age of Imperialism was a time period beginning around 1850 when modern, relatively developed nations were taking over less developed areas, colonizing them, or influencing them in order to expand their own power. Although imperialist practices have existed for thousands of years, the term "Age of Imperialism" generally refers to the activities of nations such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States in the mid 19th through the middle 20th centuries
the concept of neo-imperialism – the idea that there are indirect influences on systems of governance for lesser developed countries.
If the meaning if neo-imperialism is to be explored, we must first examine the meaning of imperialism. The term imperialism was used to describe the process by which more powerful countries would exert control or influence over less powerful countries, primarily through the use of their militaries. Neo-imperialism is similar in meaning to imperialism in that it is a process by which more powerful countries exert control over or influence less powerful countries; however, instead of achieving...