Immanuel Kant dreamed of another possibility, where nations sharing liberal values cooperated willingly and peacefully. Lenin, Stalin and Mao had a still different vision, where a single communist state dissolved national borders. Supporters of an earlier version of the Anglosphere dreamed of a condominium of the British empire (especially its white parts) and the United States to govern the world. The European empires justified themselves by claiming to bring civilisation to their subjects. After the Napoleonic wars, the great powers formed the Concert of Europe to settle disputes peacefully and maintain a largely conservative order.Īs our knowledge of each other expanded over recent centuries, so too did our capacity to imagine a truly global order. Chinese emperors claimed the “mandate of heaven”, which, they assumed, gave them authority to maintain order on Earth. The Roman empire controlled its known world for centuries. If we accept, however, that government can be the exercise of power over the peoples of a particular area with or without their consent then, yes, it is possible to imagine some hegemonic power or a collection of powers governing the world, perhaps even benevolently. Sign up to our Inside Saturday newsletter for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the magazine’s biggest features, as well as a curated list of our weekly highlights.
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