Imperial Rule

Back cover

As the title of the book implies, the authors are agreed in rejecting any uniform definition or even of a strict typology of empires. The question being asked determines the imperial alignment. It should also be clear from these essays that national historical narratives of Germany, Spain or Russia (and one could easily add France and Britain) have systematically marginalized the imperial dimensions of their histories. Finally, the essays suggest that empires were more adaptive and resilient to change than it has been commonly thought. The fact that the incantation of “decline and fall” is nowhere invoked should signal that a seismic shift is under way in the historiography pointing toward a further investigation of the elements of survival, renewal and adaptation of the patterns of imperial rule. From the Introduction Central European University Press Budapest – New York Sales and information: ceupress@ceu.hu Website: http://www.ceupress.com ISSN 1786-1438 ...