| One of the most common ways powerful states in international politics have organized their relations with weak polities is through imperial rule, yet most international relations theorists argue that the structure of international system should discourage hierarchic relations of empire. In the dissertation, I present a "hierarchic realist" theory of imperial rule, which argues that great powers opt for imperial rule under two conditions---(1) when they face new security threats that other strategies such as hegemony cannot meet, and (2) when they the possess the necessary social ties with collaborative elites subordinate polities to construct imperial governance institutions. I evaluate the plausibility of this theory in comparison with prominent alternative explanations by examining three cases drawn from the British Empire in the nineteenth century---India, South Africa, and Nigeria. |
