- World domination
World domination (sometimes world conquest, global domination, or
colloquial ly taking over the world), in which a single political authority rules over all the inhabitants of planet Earth, has been attempted by several individuals and political systems throughout history, and remains a popular theme in fiction.Ideologies advocating world domination
Religious ideologies advocating world domination
Proselytising
religion s such as most sects ofChristianity andIslam are universalist, viewing it as their task to convert as many people as possible to their religion, without restrictions on national or ethnic origin (although certain sects of these religions, such as Quakers or theDruze are not). Thisspiritual domination (see, for example,Kingdom of Heaven ) is usually seen by most people to be distinct from atemporal domination , but certain fringe groupings within these religions have an established goal of globaltheocracy .Political ideologies advocating world domination
Similarly, some devoted adherents of many different ideologies, such as
anarchism ,democracy ,communism (especiallyTrotskyism ),Nazism ,neoconservatism ,social democracy , certain conceptions ofcapitalism ,liberalism orlibertarianism view their credo as the ideal form of societal organization, and actively encourage its implementation throughout the world. The period of theCold War in particular was seen as a period of intense ideological polarization across the globe, with supporters of the two rival camps expressing hope that their ideology would emerge triumphant over the other and become the pre-eminent form of government worldwide. Elements within the allied blocs led by the Soviet Union and the United States accused each other of having objectives of global domination. By some standards the United States was triumphant, and in holding the global position ofsuper-power can perhaps be seen as having achieved world domination although only over a single decaying foe just through pure endurance.After the end of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union's collapse,
Francis Fukuyama in "The End of History" predicted thatliberal democracy would become the favoured form of government throughout the earth. This period was called by some thenew world order .Arnold Toynbee's concept of a universal state
Before modern times, the reach of political control and military force was limited by rudimentary transportation technologies and knowledge of geography. The
Roman Empire had goals of global domination, and indeed the empire was able to conquer most of the "known world" (i.e., theMediterranean ) throughout its long history. The Qin and Han dynasties as well as the Tang of China were also successful in conquering the known world ofChinese civilization . HistorianArnold Toynbee used the term "Universal State" to refer to an empire like the Roman Empire or Chinese Empire that conquered the entire world known to a particular civilization. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Civilizations] . [ Toynbee, Arnold "A Study of History--Volume XII: Reconsiderations" London:1961--Oxford University Press Pages 308-313 "Universal States". ] [ Toynbee, Arnold "A Study of History: Abridged One Volume Illustrated Edition (revised and abridged by the author and Jane Caplan)" New York:1972—Portland House Chapter VI Universal States Pages 255-318 ]Examples of universal states
As noted above, a "universal state" is an empire that has conquered most of the area known to a civilization.
Persian Empire
The
Persian Empire was the world's first greatempire . At its height in 525 BC underCyrus II the Great , it was the strongest empire in the region with its influence stretching as far asAsia Minor .Macedonian Empire
The Macedonian Empire was formed as a result of
Alexander the Great 's conquest of thePersian Empire . At his death in 323 BC it encompassed most of the world that was known to theancient Greeks .Mauryan Empire
Under
Ashoka the Great of India, the Mauryas had captured most ofancient India and their rule extended as far asHerat . However, after defeating the Kingdom of Kalinga in 250 BC, the last major Indian empire outside the rule of the Mauryas, and witnessing the bloodshed that resulted from the war, Asoka renounced violence and adoptedBuddhism . He became a person who is sometimes regarded as the most enlightened ruler throughout history and envisioned a world governed by the compassionateeightfold path of Buddhism, sending out missionaries from ancient India to as far asancient Rome , China andEgypt . The influence of Gandharan art extended as far as Eastern Europe.Roman Empire
As noted above, the
Roman Empire ruled the entire Mediterranean world during thePax Romana .Caliphate
The Muslim
Caliphate reached its maximum extent in the 8th century. A caliphate, (from the Arabic خلافة or khilaafah), is theIslam ic form of government representing the political unity and leadership of theMuslim world . The head of state's position (Caliph ) being based on the notion of a successor to theProphet Muhammad 's political authority and was known as the head of state or "Amīr al-Mu'minīn" (أمير المؤمنين) "Commander of the Believers". Each member state (State =Wilayah ) of the Caliphate (United States = Khelaphah) had its own governor (Wali ). In areas which were previously under Persian or Byzantine rule, the Caliphs lowered taxes, provided greater local autonomy, greater religious freedom for Jews, indigenous Christians, and brought peace to peoples demoralized and disaffected by the casualties and heavy taxation that resulted from the years of Byzantine-Persian warfare.The Muslim Empire during the
Umayyads Caliphate grew rapidly geographically expanding westward across North Africa and intoHispania and eastward through Persia and ultimately toSindh and Punjab in modern day Pakistan. This made it one of the largest unitary states in history and one of the few states to ever extend direct rule over three continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia). Although not ruling all of theSahara , homage was paid to the Caliph by Saharan Africa usually via various nomad Berber tribes.Mongol Empire
The
Mongol Empire (Mongolian: Их Монгол Улс, meaning "Greater Mongol Nation"; 1206–1405) was the largest contiguous land empire in history, covering over 33 million km² Fact|date=June 2008 (12 million square miles) at its peak, with an estimated population of over 100 million people. This was one-third of the population of Earth, thus making the Mongol Empire the sole superpower of its day. The Mongol Empire was founded byGenghis Khan in 1206, and at its height in 1294 underKublai Khan , it encompassed the majority of the territories fromEast Asia toCentral Europe . The Mongol Empire was the first empire to usepaper money on a large scale (it had been issued on a smaller scale in China as early as the 6th century AD).Ming Empire
In the 15th century, the
Ming Empire of China was a dominant power in Asia. TheYongle Emperor sent out, beginning in 1405, under the command of theadmiral andexplorer Zheng He , vast fleets of ships to explore and trade withSoutheast Asia ,India ,Arabia , and Africa. The expeditions continued until 1433. Had China not abandoned its huge naval/maritime program in the mid 15th century, it is possible that China, rather than the European powers, would have dominated the world in the 16th century.Inca Empire
At its height, the Incan empire encompassed virtually all of the world known to the Incans, and indeed, the
Quechua name for the empire was TawantinsuyuTawantin suyu derives from the Quechua "tawa" ("four"), to which the suffix "-ntin" ("together" or "united") is added, followed by "suyu" ("region" or "province"), which roughly renders as "The four lands together". The four suyos were: Chinchay Suyo (North), Anti Suyo (East. The Amazon jungle), Colla Suyo (South) and Conti Suyo (West).] which can be translated as "The Four Regions" or "The Four United Regions", indicating their belief their empire encompassed most of the world.Examples of global empires
Since the
Age of discovery the entireglobe has become known. There have been many global empires since then, but no empire has yet been formed that has embraced the entire world into a universal state.Portuguese empire
After the expedition of
Vasco da Gama , discoverer of the African way to India, the Portuguese built a huge empire.Habsburg Empire
The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had control over Austria, Spain, southern Italy, parts of Germany, recent conquests in the Americas. Least of all was the "de jure" control of Germany as Holy Roman Emperor.
panish Empire
The nations closest to world domination in territorial terms were both the Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal when they were merged in 1580 (until 1640) during the reign of Philip II. The Spanish Empire covered almost all South and Central America, as well as a large area of southern and western North America, almost all African and Indian maritime territories and other important regions such as the
Philippines ,Guam , the Mariana and theCaroline Islands in Asia Pacific, and the Netherlands (known asSpanish Netherlands ), parts of France and a significant portion of the Italian peninsula, in Europe. Other territories included the Mediterranean islands ofSicily ,Sardinia andMalta and the North African cities ofOran ,Mers-el-Kébir , as well asCeuta andMelilla which remain Spanish to this day. TheSpanish Empire is also considered the firstglobal empire in history.French Empire
The English-led coalition of opponents in the west and the Russian Empire in the east often claimed that Napoleon had sights on global domination, and portrayed him as being the quintessential global conqueror.
British Empire
The
British Empire , in demographic and geographical terms, came closest to achieving global domination. By the reign of Queen Victoria the British Empire had gained direct political control of about two fifths of the world's population and about one quarter of its land area, andhegemony over nominally independent areas such as parts of China and South America, thus establishing thePax Brittanica . British imperialist advocateCecil Rhodes proposed that the United States and the British Empire jointly establish a world government and make English the official world language. The British Empire is generally considered to have arisen as a result of Britain's trade objectives rather than an attempt to establish military dominion, however, and was dismantled after World War II without substantial bloodshed towards the end of the reign of King George VI. The British Empire transformed itself into theCommonwealth of Nations .oviet Union
Since the
October Revolution , theBolshevik s envisioned their regime as the first step toCommunism dominating the world. TheComintern was established in 1919 in order to encourage Communist parties across the world and promote "international proletarian revolution", althoughStalin seemed more interested in consolidating Communist control in the Soviet Union rather than promoting worldwide revolution (Socialism in One Country ).Japanese Empire
Beginning in 1931 with the
invasion of Manchuria , theJapanese Empire then launched anaggressive war of conquest against China andSoutheast Asia culminating, under the leadership ofHideki Tojo , in the attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor and the establishment of theGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere before the Empire's final defeat by theAllies in World War II in 1945.Nazi Germany
In World War II, the Nazi regime of
Adolf Hitler , theThird Reich , established what they called the New Order and had ambitious plans for directly controlling all of Europe, and then obtaining a position of power that would make them a formidablesuperpower inglobal politics . In , written in 1928, Hitler envisioned an apocalyptic air war of conquest against the United States by his successor in 1980, conducted by a great fleet of German long rangebomber s. At the time of the initial invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa ) in June 1941, Hitler had expected to win victory in World War II by 1945, and he then planned, after completing the construction of theWelthauptstadt Germania plan ofAlbert Speer for Berlin, to hold a greatWorld's Fair in Berlin in 1950 and then retire to his hometown ofLinz [ Speer, Albert "Inside the Third Reich" New York:1970--Macmillan P.139 ] .United States of America
The United States of America has been occasionally referred to as "The American Empire" [ Bacevich, Andrew J. (Professor of International Relations, Boston University) "American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy" Cambridge, Massachusetts:2002--Harvard University Press] to emphasize the great power and influence of the United States in the world both economically, with its extensive business
investment s around the world, and militarily with its extensive system of alliances, ostensibly to defend global trade, freedom [ Zakaria, Fareed "The Future of Freedom:Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad" New York:2003--W.W. Norton] , anddemocracy .The origin of the "American Empire" in concept is possibly traced back to 1898, in the aftermath of the
Spanish American War . [ Zinn, Howard "A People's History of the United States" New York:1980—Harper Perennial Page 295 ] Others date its formation to 12 July 1947 with the signing of theNational Security Act of 1947 by PresidentHarry S Truman . [ Vidal, Gore "The Decline and Fall of the American Empire" Berkeley, California: 1993—Odonian Press Page 28 ] [ [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/cwr/17603.htm National Security Act of 1947 ] ] Truman then organized theRio Pact on 2 September 1947,NATO on 4 April 1949, andANZUS on 1 September 1951, thus uniting many non-communist nations into a single "Western Alliance" to implement the policy ofcontainment in order to prevent the expansion of the Soviet Union, both in territory and influence. [ Acheson, Dean "Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department" New York:1987--W.W. Norton ] A primary goal of PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower and hisSecretary of State ,John Foster Dulles , was to create aPax Americana in the Americansphere of influence . In his final speech in 1960 before leaving office, Eisenhower warned against allowing the "military-industrial complex " to gain too much power.In the aftermath of the
Cold War , criticsWho|date=July 2008 of American foreign policy have argued that the United States seeks, or indeed actually "has", globalhegemony . On September 11, 1990, thePresident of the United States ,George H.W. Bush gave his famous speech, "Toward a New World Order" [http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/scripps/digitalarchive/speeches/spe_1990_0911_bush] to a joint session of theUnited States Congress . On September 20, 2002, theGeorge W. Bush White House posted on itswebsite the full text of the (at that time) newestNational Security Strategy of the United States , composed primarily by prominentneo-conservative Paul Wolfowitz . In this document, theBush Doctrine ofpre-emptive war was outlined. [For introductory preface, dated 17 September, 2002, see [http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nssintro.html] ; for actual complete document, the "2002 National Security Strategy of the United States of America" dated 20 September, 2002, see [http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.html] .] The Bush Doctrine was first put into use on March 20, 2003 when the Bush Administration launched the United States into war with Iraq (seeIraq War ).See also
*
Brave New World
*Cold War
*Conspiracy theory
*Grand Chessboard
*Illuminati
*League of Nations
*Megalomaniac
*New World Order--Conspiracy theory
*New World Order--Political theory
*Nineteen Eighty-Four
*Peak Oil
*"Protocols of the Elders of Zion"
*Soviet Union
*Supervillain
*Symbolic snake
*Systems theory
*United Nations
*Unrestricted Warfare
*World Government References
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