8: Global Resistance SAQ

“The fall of the modern European empires was as rapid as their rise had been, and in most places the reasons for their downfall were similar. Ultimately all [empires] had maintained their rule through [acceptance by conquered peoples] rather than by force or the threat of force. . . . What had applied to the Roman Empire also applied to the British and the French, the German, and, ultimately, even the Russian: subject peoples were only to remain in subjection so long as at least a significant number of them could see some benefit to them in so doing. Resistance to any kind of rule requires organization and courage. In the case of resistance to colonial rule, however, it also requires some vision of a better future in some postcolonial world. It requires an ideology capable of mobilizing those who might otherwise be prepared to accept the status quo as merely inevitable. Ironically, this ideology was provided by the same refashioning of society that had been the driving force behind most modern imperialism, namely nationalism.”