Exploring How Empires are Formed in Latest Conference Presentation
Author: Richmond American University London
This month, Dom Alessio, Professor of International History and Vice Present International, alongside Richmond alum Saira Joomin, presented the next stage of their research on the political and legal implication of the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia to the 34th ASEN Conference in Budapest, Hungary.
Entitled “An Anomaly of Nationalism, Imperialism, and Multilateralism: The Case of Diego Garcia”, the work expands on their research already published for Fair Observer in 2024. In a session on postcolonialism, Alessio and Joomun examined not only the history of the base and the forced exile of its population but also put these events into the context of theories of empire; they argued that the leasing and selling of territory and the role of multilateral organisations in such actions, such as the UN, should all be factored into discussions of empire.
In other words, empires are not just about states expanding through warfare as there are numerous other methods by which empires can be formed.
They now plan to finish the research and publish the output of their findings.
