Taming the Imperial Impulse: Realising a Pragmatic Moral Vision

The imperial impulse, or the tendency to dominate and exploit others, retains its hold on the hearts and minds of human beings. This essay does not suggest that humanity can once and for all overcome the imperial impulse, but emphasises making it unjustifiable in theory and untenable in practice. In other words, "taming" the imperial impulse, or understanding its rationale in ways that make empire unimaginable and imperial ideology unsustainable. This requires deliberate strategies, concerted action and deploying and supplementing existing normative and institutional resources for upholding the rule of law and protecting human rights everywhere. Instead of resorting to unilateral and extra-institutional "humanitarian intervention", it proposes that whatever political will and resources any state is willing to devote to protecting victims around the world should be directed at enhancing collective institutional action through the United Nations.