Opinion: The British Empire: A legacy of violence?
The empire is on the verge of a change. The old, militaristic and inward-focused empire is on the eve of becoming a great power of the future. Its future is in the hands of those who will continue and expand the tradition it is already following in foreign policy.
When the British Empire was born, Britain was still a struggling and impoverished colony of continental Europe. When the first British colonies were established by the British government on the continent of Africa (1884), and of India (1905), two centuries before the establishment of the current international order, the imperial system continued to be based on the belief that in order to control other countries and to achieve power, there is nothing better than imposing their will.
In recent years, in order to cope with the challenges of globalization, the US, Europe and other parts of the global community has begun to change its strategy. In its view, the current power equilibrium in international relations favours countries that are capable of adapting the practices of the modern world. The US and especially Europe has therefore focused its efforts on the idea of the international order based on the balance of power. In this view, only one country has the capacity to exert a global and decisive influence.
The shift to a new, globally-oriented framework is reflected, according to the US and the EU in their policies of globalization. But this new approach is not limited to foreign policy. The international order is also evolving in terms of the policies of the main actors of international relations. If ever international relations could be seen as a competition between two different systems of power, the main actors of international relations now see the international order as a competition between two different visions of the world, two different ways of shaping the world. The EU and the US have succeeded, as it were, in shifting from an old, militaristic and inward-focused system to a global order based on liberal principles.
The European Union is attempting to establish a new international order. The liberal principles are the main idea. The EU has attempted to transform the international order. This is the main reason for the EU�
