Democratic empire

From Governance Wiki

A democratic empire refers to a political state which conducts its internal affairs democratically (i.e. with respect for its citizens and their collective will) but externally its policies have a striking resemblance to imperial rule.

Democratic imperialism as such may in fact be a contradiction in terms as empire expresses itself with aggression abroad and repression at home. The concept of a democratic empire can likewise be an instrument of social control as with ideology and ideological conditioning generally. This form of empire can be applied to the Soviet Union before and after Stalin's rule, at which point it was an empire in the normal sense.