Our third assignment will focus on the article “Explaining Imperialism: The State of the Art as Reflected in Three Theories.” This is not a very difficult article but it is somewhat dense and requires you to maintain focus. Overall it takes many of the most important theorist and theories concerning imperialism (these theories that try to explain why the great powers basically colonized most of the globe) and puts them into a few distinct general schools (groups that have basic elements in common.)
According to the article, other than ‘lateral pressure,’ what are the two schools of thought that have promoted theories in an attempt to explain imperialism or imperial expansion? You need to briefly explain the key components of each of these and mention their major proponents.
Now, explain the theory of “lateral pressure.” How does it function? If we take oil as a desirable consumer commodity, could we use oil to partially explain European efforts to gain control (directly or indirectly) of places such as Iraq and Iran at the turn of the 20th century (early 1900’s) as having been driven by aspects of lateral pressure? Is imperialism the only possible outcome of “lateral pressure?” Answer these questions in full detail.
Instructions:
Your essay should be no longer than 4 pages. Use 12 point script and please double space. Please utilize normal pre-set (1 inch) margins.
When citing the material, especially when using direct quotes, please use footnote citations. (In Word go to References and Footnote and then type your source information.) A works cited page is not a substitute for footnotes. If you need guidance or help with this please do not hesitate to come visit with me or the TA’s.
Use Chicago Manual of Style for referencing. You can find brief guides readily available online.
This particular assignment should focus solely on the assigned essay.
Be sure to edit your work for spelling and grammar mistakes as well as organization and clarity.
Be sure your thesis statement encapsulates your argument for the entire paper (see footnote below) This particular part of the prompt is the only one that requires you to formulate an argument. The rest is descriptive. Basically I am using oil as a case study to see how well you have grasped the “lateral pressure argument.” What this means is that your introduction will be generally descriptive but you need to integrate a thesis statement (argument) into it on the topic of oil and lateral pressure.
