Imperialism in India Essay

PoliticsThe cause of imperialism are both substantiating and contradict. The positive effects are banning inhumane traditional practices such as sati and the dowry carcass, promoting widow remarriage and prohibiting electric s obligater marriage. The negative effects are that Britain caused the traditional industries to crash. Also, poverty increased. British officials were paid out of the India treasury.Imperialism drained Indias wealth. It finished India economic exclusivelyy and politic completelyy. India became dependent due to imperialism. It destroyed Indias handicraft and small scale industries. The imperialisticic agents interact India as a place to extend their power. Imperialism gradually destroyed India.While destroying India economically and politically, imperialism as well as had virtually reliable effects on India. With the spread of imperialism and compoundism , foreign powers took an interest in India and thus introduced refreshed subject matter of tran sport and communication. Modern technology and precept were overly introduced. negative effects Racism grew (British to the indains) economic hardship, british were upset by the indain desire for self rule and nationlism, injury of self sufficiency, reduced food doing which led to famines. corroborative effects railroads were built, communication grew due to the building of teleph stars, and the telegraph, desire for unity, modern economy, public health improved, english language more commonly used and erudite British Imperialism in IndiaAll the attractership had spent their early(a) years in England. They were influenced by British thought, British ideas, that is why our leaders were invariably telling the British How potentiometer you do these things? Theyre against your own basic values.. We had no hatred, in feature it was the other way round it was their values that made us revolt. -Aruna Asaf Ali, a leader of the Indian internal Congress. (Masani, quoted in Wood , 32, 1989)There is no doubt that British imperialism had a heavy(a) impact on India. India, having previously been an group of independent and semi-independent princedoms and territories, to a lower placewent great metamorphose under British administration. Originally intended to consolidate their go over on India by establishing a population that spoke the like language as their rulers, the British stopping full arcdegree in the 1830s to educate Indians in a westernmosterly fashion, with English as the language of instruction, was the beginning of a chain of events, including a rise in Indian patriotism, that led to Indian resentment of British imperialism and lastly to the loss of British control over India.One of the most important factors in the British loss of control over India was the establishment of English as a unifying language. Prior to British colonisation, India was split and multi-lingual, with 15 major languages and around 720 dialects. English served as a common ground for Indians, and allowed separate heathen and ethnic groups to identify with each other, well-nighthing which had rarely if ever occurred before on a grand scale.Although it was mainly educated Indians of a privileged caste who spoke English, these were the most influential wad in call of acting as facilitators for nationalist ideas to be communicated throughout the populace. The publication of magazines and journals in English was also a great influence on the rise of Indian patriotism. Although most Indians received nationalist ideas orally, these journals allowed Indians who were literate in English to come into contact with the ideas of social and political reformers.Political and social reform in India was achieved as a result of the European political principles brought to India by the British. Indians were Anglicised, and the British ideal for an Indian was to be Indians in blood and colour, unsloped English in tastes, opinions and intellect, as put b y 1 British legislator (Rich, 214, 1979). This Western education inevitably led to well-read Indians encountering European principles such as human rights, freedoms of speech, change of location and association, and liberalism.This was in direct contrast to the imperialism practised by the British in India and to the Indian experience one third of the subcontinent was ruled by Indian princes under British supervision, and the rest was directly controlled by the vicereine and administered by most one thousand members of the civil service, all of them English (Rich, 215, 1979). This knowledge of principles such as autonomy and freedom naturally led to more Indians desiring this for their own nation, understandable since it appeared that the worlds great and most powerful nations were self-governing democracies, and this system was taken for granted(predicate)ly roaring.Part of the newfound desire for freedom experienced by m either Indians was the desire for native organized religion and customs to be respected. It is widely accepted that the Indian revolution of 1857 was at least partly generated by Indian resentment of British interference in Hindu customs. Indian soldiers in the army were required to bite the ends off gun cartridges that contained pig fat and cow fat, which offended both Islamics and Hindus. When troops refused to use the cartridges, eighty sepoys were thrown into gaol for disobedience, an act which ultimately triggered the up go up. (Richards, 301, 1994).This showed a great lack of cultural and religious sensitivity on the part of British officers. Although the mutiny was put crop up quickly, it shook British confidence in their power, and resulted in tighter control of their hold on India. This in turn led to further resentment of British imperialism, and claims that military regulations were an attempt by the British to destroy the traditional caste system. (Richards, 301, 1994). In believing so vehemently that the British sys tem was superlative to the far humble Hindu traditions, the British officers were fundamentally contravening the ideals of freedom that were an important element of the Western European political principles that they so cherished to in bland in the Indian peoples.Following the Mutiny of 1857, Indian nationalism gained more(prenominal) more momentum than had previously existed in the maiden part of the century. This movement consisted mostly of British-educated intellectuals, and ironically was made possible by the British encouragement of higher education, originally intended to reach a middle management that could carry out simple administration jobs. Most of the Indian nationalists most nonably Ghandi were educated in Western Europe and were well-read in Western notions of freedoms, civil liberties and autonomy. The Indian study Congress was the largest and most obvious nationalist group, formed so that educated Indianscould express dissatisf implement with the British colonial administration and suggest reforms. (Cowie, 36, 1994)This Congress, however, had no power in legal injury of motion and it can be studyn as an attempt by the British to appease Indian nationalists who wanted progress. The work throughming uselessness of the Indian field Congress in terms of enforcing changes and reforms can be revealn as a great cause of Indian resentment of British nationalism. Even so, a nationalist organisation such as this would not produce been possible had it not been for the fact that the British acquainted a group of Indians with European political principles (Cowie 27, 1994).As well as the moderate nationalism that grew within the Indian National Congress, extreme nationalism was also seemly prevalent. Aside from more violent protesters such as Tilak, nonviolent opposition to British imperialism emerged in protesters such as Ghandi. In response to the Rowlatt Acts, which enabled a protester or suspected terrorist to be engrossed without tr ial, and the Amritsar massacre, in which 379 unarmed anti-British demonstrators were killed, Ghandi advocated a return to traditional Indian simplicity as opposed to Western materialism (Cowie 41, 1994). This dis kindred of materialism was owed in part to his experiences in England studying law, where he discovered his Indian heritage through the work of 19th century British scholars who had re-created ancient Indian narrative and revived interest in ancient Indian literature and language (Cowie 164, 1982).Ghandi also gained insight into his civilisation through discussion with English friends on religion, both Christianity and Hinduism, which he now began to discover on a philosophical level (Masselos, 121, 1972). Ghandis Western education allowed him to develop his radical technique of satyagraha or lawfulness force, whereby laws were opposed with the force of truth and moral consciousness alternatively of violence. This go on, though mostly a Hindu philosophy, in part derived its inspiration from Christianity, and the idea of turning the other cheek (Masselos, 122, 1972), and drew upon improver and radical strands in Western thought (Masselos, 122, 1972). Studying Western history and ideas would put one across made Ghandi see that m some(prenominal) Western approaches and ideas were extremely effective and British forces may have reacted more positively to a method of protest that came partly from their own culture.Exposure to Western culture also aided Ghandi in seeing that satyagraha would be a powerful means of protest in an economic context Ghandi claimed that the finish of satyagraha against the British administration could so paralyse the economy that the surface area would become ungovernable (Cowie, 43, 1994). Ghandi used an approach that he had developed partly from his exposure to Western education to cause trouble in a facet of society that he knew was essential to the British consolidation of power in India. At this time, and musical composition the world was in the throes of World War One, the British were committing more acts to instigate resentment amongst Indians. India had a large part in World War One, with more than a million pounds sterling voted from Indian revenues towards the greet of the war (Cowie, 39, 1994).With this in mind, the Montagu Declaration was issued in 1917, promising gradual and progressive self-government for India. There was, however, much suspicion that this declaration meant nothing and that Britain had no intention of relinquishing control beyond simple aspects such as health services, agriculture and public works (Cowie, 39, 1994). This of course caused much resentment autonomy was essentially being denied, and in a condescending manner laterward Indias sacrifice for the Empire in World War One.During the 1920s and 1930s the Indian nationalist movement continued with strength. Ghandis drift for independence went on, with his encouragement of pacifistic protest and criticis m of British administration and appraisees. In 1921, Ghandi called for all Indians to ostracize paying taxes on farming tools to the British, a strategy to have a negative effect on the economy. His non-cooperation campaign, despite its nonviolent aims, periodically became violent, and Ghandi was imprisoned in 1922 for instigating the movement.He was released two years later. The movement, however, was quite successful in terms of uniting the country in a movement under one leader (Masselos, 138, 1972), joined by their resentment of British rule. While earlier in the century, the English language and European political principles gave rise to the Indian nationalist movement, these were the tools used to strengthen the movement and to create unity among the Indian people.Many individual events associated with Ghandis satyahara approach, such as the Salt March in 1930 which demonstrated defiance of the British monopoly on salt manufacturing, and Ghandis Quit India campaign that last ed throughout the 1920s and 1930s, led to the ultimate independence of India in 1947. The one movement that underpinned singular acts of patriotism was the nationalist movement, led by Mahatma Ghandi. Ghandi was shrewd enough to utilise the nature of British rule in India to win independence without too much bloodshed (Masani, quoted in Wood, 32, 1989).This movement was made possible by the establishment of English as a unifying language and by acquainting Indians with European political principles, which led to Indian resentment of British nationalism and ultimately to the British loss of control over India. The effects of imperialism are both positive and negative. The positive effects are banning inhumane traditional practices such as sati and the dowry system, promoting widow remarriage and prohibiting child marriage. The negative effects are that Britain caused the traditional industries to crash. Also, poverty increased. British officials were paid out of the India treasury. THE GREAT continue OF IMPERIALISMFundamentally, the imperialism idea comes from the early modernization fantasy that began with the 16th century. Afterwards renaissance, catholic reformation and reconnaissance actions amount this concept in order. Then geographical explorations take place in history and in this smell out a lightening period exists by the help of these agendas. This lightening period consists of many resistent ideologies. We see these ideologies changing and shaping time to time and one of these specific action-oriented ideas is seen as imperialism with its impact on some African and Asian part, in particular, the response of conquered areas to the west in late 19th century and early twentieth century. In order to express what the imperialism is, it can be said that imperialism is an ideology to puff tidy society by being rooted in a particular economic system, capitalism, and benefits a particular class, which Marxists call the bourgeoisie or ruling class. ( exclusivelyterfield, 2002)In this sense, we see the colonization action of the west under the name of imperialism against the African and Asian part of the world in late 19th and early 20th century. In some countries we see the entire-colonization and in some of them on that point was semi-colonization according to some reasons that are tie in with their understanding of modernity and the way that they show their receptions. In general sense it can be implied that the reaction of sub-Saharan Africa against the impact of west imperialism was more strict than the one in Central Asia in terms of economic reasons, nationalism and religion.To begin with the economic perspective of imperialism, imperialist countries need of row material and food market and the change in the meaning of imperialism seem to be the crucial point. Up to 17th century, imperialism was not connect with capitalism because in these times land power was important. However in later period of time, curiously in the late19th century the spread of industrialization in the world had achieved the point where international competition for markets was becoming profoundly. After the third threshold of industrial revolution, the new imperialist political ideologies became the state politics of European countries. In this sense colonization action of west powers takes place.As a provision, we see the strict further at the same time invalid reaction of Africans. In Asian side, we dont see such kind of strict reaction as it is seen in Africa. This is because of their preparations against the equiprobable imperialistic action of west, that can be regarded as the extension of rapid modernization of west. Especially European countries could not entirely colonise southwestward Central Asian countries such as Iran and India. For example England could not hold with India because India was not so weak in terms of economy and because of its economical interdependence, Indias military modernization had been taken place in order to fight with any power. However the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa was not so pleasing. They were still living as tribal societies and they were prompt to be treated as slave.First of all, by the investigations of the European missionaries, west were aware of the row material sources that were not used, such as cool and diamond. By the power in their hand, west took the region under control and made the people work for their benefit.They also made African pay taxes. Actually that led revolt against foreign occupation. Africans time-tested to kill the tax collectors as time goes by. For example in 1902 a tax collection set in Bailundo, in the center of what is now Angola, went badly wrong when local people rebelled violently, attacking tax collectors and potrs (both European and African). This was the first time that Africans had rebelled against the Portuguese in Angola. (BBC WORLD SERVICE, no date) That shows how deeply they were affected from the p ower of west. Also we understand that the gloom of Africans did not result from leaving their sources to west power. The main point that made them revolt was being made pay taxes.Secondly in terms of nationalism, liberation struggles of colonized countries come next. Fundamentally, the idea of these struggles relies on the cut Revolution and the nationalism idea that comes next. In this sense there are structured similarities between Asian and African independence struggles. However the only point that they differ from each other is the process of their struggles. It is because the Asian nations were more ready in terms of military concept by the qualified commanders that came from west in the colonization process.Thus their armies were trained professionally by the Europeans and they were ready to fight with the west by the technology that came from west. Actually, it can be regarded as a contradiction in terms in terms of training the nation and then loss of the colonized land b ecause of the liberation action of that nation. In African side the situation was same only when their liberation process was too long. At that point the lack of modernization agendas can be shown as a reason.One other point closely liberation is the modern education concept in Africa and Asia that was supplied by Europeans. Thus we are set about with the same contradiction again. West was supplying the modern education as one of the prerequisite of imperialism and many scientists and thinkers were brought up. As time goes by these thinkers were affected by the ideologies such as nationalism. For example Indian national leader Gandhi was one of them and played a whopping role on gaining the independence of India after the second World War. (Cody, 1990) In this example we see the specific show of the contradiction that is mentioned above.Lastly to mention about the perspective of religion, the eurocenteric aim of spreading the Christianity all over the world under the idea of imp erialism should be discussed. At that point, we see the similarity between South Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa again as we saw in liberation concept. In 19th century most of the Asian and African nations were Muslim and this was a big obstacle for the west to achieve their aim. West tried to assimilate the Asia and Africa but they both showed their reaction also against the west. (Pappas, no date)If it is need to combine religion with nationalism there is something to think about. If the African and Asian nations had been Christian may be the nationalism idea would loose its validity and its impact on gaining the independence. Moreover, may be the colonized countries would be still colonized under the power of west. So it is obvious that the religion diversity made colonized nations fight for their independent conceit.To sum up the agendas of the impact of imperialist west, the insufficiency in the process of modernization and because of this, being under the control of west can be expressed as a summary. In the above examples we see that the impact of west and the probable reaction of South Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are ground on some economical, ideological concepts and religion in the light of many specific processes. Also it was obvious that there were both similarities and diversities between Africa and Asia in the period of west imperialism and economical perspective was the most distinct one in terms of diversities. On the other hand in nationalism, liberation struggle, the hope of independence and independent conceit were the common points although there was a little bit diversity in the sense of the process of these concepts. Positive Ending pitiable TraditionsDuring the process of colonialism, the controlling nation has the power to revise or abolish certain social traditions of the region. This provides a means to eliminate damaging social trends and older ideals. For instance, after India was colonized, the long-standing practic e of Sati was finally abolished. Sati was the practice where the first wife of a deceased husband would throw herself, or be thrown, onto the funeral fire with her husband as a show of mourning. It was not until the colonization of India that the rest of the world learned about the practice and locomote to outlaw it. Positive ModernizationColonialism brought modernization to regions that were technologically underdeveloped. Modernization projects included building railroads for open trade, needed medical advancements and schools providing a modern education. These advances helped underdeveloped nations improve their global status as centers for trade. The improvements to education provided an prospect for colonized students to compete with foreign students in fields including literature, art, math and science.Read more Positive & prejudicial Effects of Colonialism eHow.com http//www.ehow.com/info_8505011_positive-negative-effects-colonialism.htmlixzz2MmpHwOQ6 Negative Segregated BenefitsMany of the benefits of colonialism, such as education, were restricted to specific classes of individuals, usually based on skin color or ethnic origin. This segregation lead to a natural segregation throughout colonized countries and established the foundation for a racially segregated future. As an example, the extreme racial segregation in South Africa, known as the apartheid, is a partial result of African colonialism. The education segregation left an economic disparity in South Africa that resulted in continued segregation after the colonial period and a legacy of poor civil rights and human atrocity. Negative Resource failOne of the primary goals of colonialism was the establishment of a resource-generating system through which natural resources from colonized regions were gathered and traded by the colonizing nation. This process reduced the availability of natural resources in the colonized nations, leading to times of hunger, poverty and need. roughly colonie s were heavily farmed, with food stores shipped to feed populations elsewhere while locals survived on less. Further, this created a system where a colonized country could be farmed for its natural wealth, but receive no monetary benefits.Read more Positive & Negative Effects of Colonialism eHow.com http//www.ehow.com/info_8505011_positive-negative-effects-colonialism.htmlixzz2MmpLOLoP Imperialism in India Bad or Good?Imperialism has been both positive and negative in the eyes of the Indians.It has helped them, but has also left them with no responsibility in their government. The British called the empire the British Raj. The European colonizers provided many things and helped solve old problems. They brought parts of civilization that most Indians were not able to create by themselves. They built roads and other means of transportation as well as telegraphs. They have helped India become more modernized and built a government that is strong and efficient. To sum up the whole, the British rule has been- morally, a great blessing politically, peace and order.. (Dadabhai Naoroji). Imperialism has brought new standards of humanity, like when they stopped childicide and the slave trade in India. It has also brought industrialization and improved sanitation. Imperialism has also affected the colonizers in a positive way.They impersonate cheap raw materials and make a profit off of what they provide for the Indians. All of this they got from a system of mercantilism. There were, however, a hardly a(prenominal) negative effects of Imperialism. All they do is live off of Indian while they are here. When they go, they carry all they have gained. (Naoroji). Naoroji also adds that the natives call the system the knife of sugar. other problem that arose was how the Europeans occupy all of the higher places in the government. For a hundred years you have make everything for us. You have given us no responsibility in our own government. (Mohandas Gandhi).Many of the old Indian industries were broken up, causing unemployment and poverty. Some also feel that they are treated as being inferior to the colonizers In 1990, Stephen Covey published The 7 economic consumptions of Highly stiff People. A business-oriented self-help book, the volume was a commodious bestseller and is still in print today. During the same ecstasy-and-a-half, the American economy grew hugely. A coincidence? Perhaps not. allows face it our crusade to extend the benefits of Americanism to the rest of the world, in particular the Middle East, has not been Effective. Now intelligibly its time to work Coveys magic on Uncle Sams dim imperial effort. Heres what think-tank tigers need to know, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Imperialists 1. Be serious about your imperialism the Great Game is not for dilettantes.Thrilling to accounts of the Battle of Plassey, savoring the Sykes-Picot agreement, taking in seminars at AEIthats not broad(a) enough. Heres how the Los Angeles Ti mes recently described Doug Feith, undersecretary of defense and leading neo-imperialist, in his habitation sitting in his library surrounded by stacks of Commentary magazines and books on the British empire and the Middle East. In other words, an armchair warriorliterally. Is it any wonder Feith has been unable? By contrast, the Highly Effective Imperialist gets off his fanny and goes native. We ability consider, for example, Richard Francis Burtonnow he was Effective. In the days before jets or mints on your hotel room pillow, Burton made his way across five continents. He helped discover the source of the Nile he was one of the first Westerners to visit Mecca, disguised as an Afghan Muslim.Yet in addition to all his journeys, in addition to writing a half-dozen books and innumerable monographs on people and places, he also learned the local languages he translated works from Arabic and Hindi, notably the Kama Sutra and The Arabian Nights. Not surprisingly, Burton saw little of England during his openhanded lifehe died in Trieste in 1890which is to say, Burton lived out the self-sacrificing injunction of Rudyard Kipling Take up the albumin Mans burden/Send forth the best ye breed/Go bind your sons to transfer/ To serve your captives need. If Americans are serious about imperialism, they ordain make a massive commitment to inform little Justin and Jennifer the tongues of their new realms Arabic, Pashtu, Dari, Farsi, Urdu, etc. And then, even more important, they go out steel their children for lifetimes of overoceans service.Of course, Effective Imperialists must(prenominal) combine ethnic and linguistic ground truth with high Machiavellianism. To keep control of India, for example, the British well-mannered the Sikhs as a ruling elite. Why? Because the Sikhs were a tiny minority. Once they were installed in the upper reaches of the Raj, the Sikhs were impatient for the Brits to stay, so as to preserve their top-dog status. That approach proved Ef fective for a century. By contrast, today, is there any American clever enough to see the wisdom of dividing Iraq into three parts, so as to make all three mini-statesSunni, Shia, Kurddependent on the U.S. for border protection? Evidently not. And in any case, were still fighting two out of three of these groups 18 months after liberating them.Feith & Co. navigated by moral clarity, not by historical or political landmarks. According to an August report in Rolling Stone, one U.S. legions colonel, a veteran of Middle East work, fluent in Arabic, was interviewed by Feith for a possible job. During the session, Feith looked down at his rsum, I see you speak Arabic, Feith said. When the colonel nodded, Feith snapped, too bad and dismissed him. To make matters worse, the Feithians appointed their unskilled friends and relativesMichael Fleischer (brother of Ari) and Simone Ledeen (daughter of Michael)to prominent positions in the Coalition Provisional Authority. After a few months of si ghtseeing and war profiteering, such folks have mostly come homenot Effective.2. Get the locals to like you.This is hard, I know. Its counterintuitive to expect that the people youre killing will give you their police van and minds. In the words of Voltaire, It would be easier to subjugate the entire universe through force of arms than the minds of a single village. It took the British two difficult decades to subdue the Sudanese Muslims in the late 19th century, but by the mid-20th century, Sudan had gained its independenceand also great hostility to the West. Other British colonial non-success stories include Zimbabwe, which is one of the few countries where London is hated more than Washington. We might also recall that the British liberated Iraq twice in the last century, in 1917 and in 1941. And what do they have to show for the gravestones they left behind in Mesopotamia?Today, its the Americans turn to score low as colonizers. One poll taken this spring showed that 92 perce nt of Irakis saw Americans as occupiers just two percent saw them as liberators. As George W. scrub himself conceded on April 13, I wouldnt be happy if I were occupied either. During the Athens Olympics, the Bush-Cheney campaign desire to make re-election hay out of the Iraq soccer teams success yet an Iraqi pseud cut the Rovers off at midfield, telling the Americans We want to live. Stop killing civilians. Help rebuild Iraq instead of destroying it. We might call this Mission Not Accomplished. So what to do?Once again, the Effective Imperialist looks to whats worked in the past. England and Scotland had fought each other for eonsBraveheart and all thatbut they merged in 1603 when James VI of Scotland inherited the English crown and became James I of England. Four centuries later, the relationship still works. So today, if some rising young buck in the Bush dynasty went to Iraq, married a girl named Sistani, embraced Shia Islam, and brought the new Mrs. Bush home to social and political prominence, that would be the beginning of a beautiful transnational friendship. A future American president with a Sharia-worthy beard might not please American neocons, but he would be Effective at earning Iraqi allegiance.3. Be ruthless.If Habit 2 doesnt work, then try Habit 3. We might consider, for example, the Effectiveness Lesson in the Book of Samuel. God said to Saul Now go and spank Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. But while Saul mostly followed the entitles commandment, he spared a few folks and critters. God was outraged at this insufficient ruthlessness. As future-king Samuel explained to soon-to-be-ex-king Saul, Thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.So Samuel had to mop up, completing the earth-scorching. Now thats Effectiveness. Similarly, when the Romans wanted to be rid of troubles ome Carthage once and for all, they flattened the city and plowed the leveled ground with salt. Carthago was truly delenda, and it hasnt been heard from since. More recently, when white Americans and Australians wanted to Manifest their Destiny over their respective continents, they mostly massacred the autochthonic peoples, occasionally deigning to miscegenate with them.The Chinese are using equally Effective tactics in Tibet today. In geopolitics, possession-by-domination is nine-tenths of the law demography is political destiny. In the meantime, after 213 years of attempted subjugation, the Russians are still Ineffective in Chechnya. Vladimir Putin might be asking himself, WWSD What Would Stalin Do? And the answer to that question might well be total wipeout, by any WMD necessary. Note to other countries dealing with uppity populations its genocide, but its been proven Effective.4. Got allies? Youll need some.The Venetian Republic lasted for a thousand years because the doges we re dicey enough to use mercenaries and surrogates in their endless wars with their fellow Italians, then Byzantines, then Ottoman Turks. For their part, the British didnt succeed in taking down Louis XIV, Napoleon, the Kaiser, and Hitler all by themselves. For centuries, London built balance-of-power coalitions that enabled Albion to preserve its sea power, while not getting bogged down in losing ground wars. Similarly, when the U.S. has had alliesfrom World War I to Gulf War I to Kosovo to Afghanistanthe fighting has generally been Effective. But Americas more biased wars, such as Vietnam and Gulf War II, have been Ineffective.Having allies helps in other ways, tooespecially if you have an ogre for an ally. The American occupation of Germany and Japan was eased by the menacing specter of the Soviets, just across the Elbe and the East Sea. The message was clear if the surrendered Germans and Japanese ever became too troublesome, the Americans would exit and the Red army would ent er. No wonder we were so Effective. In the case of occupied Iraq today, suppose Turkey or Iran had invaded the country at the same time as American forces. By now the American sector might well seem like paradise compared to the Turkish or Iranian sector. Plus those occupiers would be no-nonsense in their pacificationsee Habit 3, above.5. Be realistic.Politics is the art of the possible, said Bismarck. In the same vein, the Effective Imperialist doesnt over-promise. In 2003, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace did a study of the 16 major nation-building efforts conducted by the U.S. and found that just fourGermany, Japan, Grenada in 1983, Panama in 1989had been Effective. The other 12, stretched from Haiti to Nicaragua to South Vietnam, were Ineffective. The basic lesson is that culture matters most. The Germans, for example, proved capable of utter barbarism under Nazi rule, but after having lost eight million in the warsee Habit 3 againthey were ready, post-1945, to cha nge their ways and resume being a normal European country again.So Germany proved peaceful and prosperous, just like its neighbors the death of Hitler helped restore the nation to the generally upward trend line of its neighborhood. It was good news that the Germans blended back into their environment, but it was also not surprisingEurope is a civilization. Arab Islam is a civilization, too. And its not surprising that Iraq seems to be reverting to its neighborhood trend line, which, of course, is not auspicious for American dreams of a democratic transformation of Iraq. To put it another way, Islam is a tough nut to crack. Nowhere in the world, except maybe Attica prison, does a white minority rule successfully over a Muslim majority, which leads us to the Sixth Habit of Effective Imperialists.6. Leave quicklyand set up a shaft government.In July 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower arranged 14,000 U.S. Marines to go ashore in Lebanon to prop up the U.S.-backed government. Three mon ths later, having stark(a) that mission, they all pulled out exactly one American was killed by hostile fire. By contrast, when President Ronald Reagan ordered the Marines back into Lebanon in August 1982, he kept them there for 18 monthsand 254 Leathernecks lost their lives amidst development resistance. Today, we have been in Afghanistan for almost three years, and in Iraq for 18 months. Its safe to say that we arent growing more popular in either place. Instead, the Effective Imperialist uses surrogates for long-term country-control. The Shah, for example, gave us 26 good years of sway in Iran, although admittedly the 25 years since his repay in 1979 have been disappointing.But the search for new toolshuman toolscontinues. And so on to Baghdad. In October 2002, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz inform that Rep. Tom Lantos, ranking Democrat on the House International Affairs Committee, had soothed a visiting Israeli politician with these assurances about the future of Iraq My dear Collette, dont worry. You wont have any problem with Saddam. Well be rid of the bastard soon enough. And in his place well install a pro-Western dictator, who will be good for you and good for us. Enter Ahmad Chalabi. Exit Ahmad Chalabi. And while Chalabi did not meet expectations, Iyad Allawi is showing hes toughtough on press freedom at least. And while it might not be prudent to write a life-insurance policy for the new Iraqi strongman, its possible that he will survive and thrive.But whether or not Allawi makes it, Americans on the home front should develop a taste for hummus and biryani. Just as curry and couscous are national dishes of Britain and France today, thanks to the recasting of their populations as a byproduct of conquest, Americans, too, should prepare for demographic and culinary transition. Today, the difference between the colonizer and the colonized isnt just firepowerits birthrates.One way or another, lots of Iraqis are going to end up in the U.S. Allawi himsel f may live and die in his homeland, but lots of his friends and relatives will find new homesnext door to the late Shahs kin and cronies, maybe in Beverly Hills. Of course, not every Iraqi coming to the American mother country will be carrying a suitcase stuffed with cash. Some will be carrying other things in their bags, which brings us to the seventh and last point in our Effectiveness tutorial.7. bridge yourself for tragedy.Its coming. At the height of Roman Imperial Effectiveness, the poet Juvenal wrote plangently, The country weeps for its victories. A study by the Cato bestow counted 98 wars and military campaigns waged by the British from 1800 to 1906. Kipling, the bard of imperialism, poeticized the fate of many of his countrymen When youre wounded and left on Afghanistans plains/And the women come out to cut up what remains/Jest roll to your run low and blow out your brains/An go to your Gawd like a soldier. Sometimes, the tragedy comes later to the Imperial Country. Aft er the fall of the Bastille in 1789, the young minds of Europe were aflame with thoughts of revolutionary restructuring. Nowhere was enthusiasm for the Aufklrung greater than among German intellectuals.As the historian Isaiah Berlin observed, Almost without exception, they began by welcoming the French Revolution rapturously, planting trees of liberty and denouncing as obsolete and brutally oppressive the rule of the three hundred German princes. But then the dialectic wheel turned, as the French overplayed their hand. Horrified by the Terror and wounded by the national degradation of Germany by the armies of Revolutionary France and, still more, those of Napoleon, those same Germans, Berlin continued, turned into patriots, reactionaries and romantic irrationalists. One such was Beethoven. Living at the time in Vienna, the young composer intended to dedicate his Third Symphony to Napoleon, but after the French leader crowned himself emperor in 1804, he tore up the Eroica dedication .Less than a decade later, Beethoven composed a celebratory piece entitled Wellingtons Victory. And so the warm Francophiles of not-yet-Germany were transformed into even more fervent Francophobes. Most likely, Napoleon went to his grave in 1821 without thinking much about the deep geysers of sentiment he had helped uncork. But the unifying Germans thought deeply about their confusion and insult for half a century they brooded and plotted. And then in 1870, 1914, and 1940, they crossed the Rhine, each time wreaking alarming vengeance and violence. In contemporary Iraq, our brave troops might be holding up well, but they arent just filling up future pages of glorious American military history.They are also unintentionally collaborating in the composition of future sagas of Sunni and Shia martyrdom. Today, the fighting in Iraq is asymmetrical our F-16s, their AK-47s. But tomorrow, the asymmetrical action could shift to America their WMD, our cities. Thats called blowback, and its a darn nuisance. To date, Americans have been Effective at outlay money in Iraq, and little else. But its not too late to learn the septenary Habits of Imperial Effectiveness. If Americans are prepared to liveindeed, to dieby those Habits, we can look forward, at least, to pacifying Fallujah.