For most of the past five millennia, the world has been dominated by empires. These mega-states have set the agenda for much of human development, but their rule has never been uncontested. Anti-imperialism is as old as empires. Economic change and devastating wars have weakened some states and promoted others. This first lecture in the series discusses the concept of empire and resistance to empire in a long historical perspective.

Odd Arne Westad is the Engelsberg Chair for 2020/21 at LSE IDEAS. He is currently the Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale, and is a former director of LSE IDEAS.

Michael Cox is Director of LSE IDEAS and Emeritus Professor of International Relations at LSE.

LSE IDEAS (@lseideas) is LSE's foreign policy think tank. We connect academic knowledge of diplomacy and strategy with the people who use it.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEEngelsberg

Podcast & Video

A podcast of this event is available to download from Empires Past & Present: the idea of empire.

A video of this event is available to watch at Empires Past & Present: the idea of empire. 

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.