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320 Empires do not play by the same rules as ordinary states. They believe they have unique responsibilities and unique rights. They do not want to participate in the international system; they want to be the international system.!”! Many observers have described a kind of imperial logic that is not confined to any particular era—the logic of extension. As military affairs scholar Eliot Cohen described it, an empire is a multinational or multieth- nic state that extends its influence through formal and informal control of other polities. The projection of power results not from the lure of profit or ambition, but from the fear of chaos. To let go never looks safe.'” Empires use a range of tools and incentives to maintain their domi- nance—not just military power, but also political persuasion, economic advantage, and cultural influence. The British and Roman empires sur- vived not just by exerting force, but also by persuading others that it was in their interest to remain part of an empire. Many human empires were motivated by some kind of ideology; in the case of the Romans, the ideology was “civilization.” The Roman Empire constituted not only a state, but a way of living.’ Several scholars have argued that empires can have positive effects. Political economist Deepak Lal’s survey of ancient and modern empires led him to conclude that they have served as a mechanism for governance for disparate peoples who otherwise would have been trapped in the con- flicts and inefficiencies of anarchy.'** One of the few times of extended peace in Europe was between 100 and 200 A.D., when the Roman Empire exerted centralized control over much of the Western world. Some empires (particularly the Roman and British) have been seen as progressive historical forces, providing the conditions for prosperity by making international economic order possible. Empires are a time-tested method for imposing order and securing justice, argued historian Niall Ferguson; they have as often been a force for progress as a source o oppression. Empires spread wealth and technology and allowed the free movement of capital and labor. Historian and author Arthur Herman proposed tha the British Navy’s dominance of the seas during the era of industrialization enabled the main features of today’s global economy—speedy communica- tion and travel across open seas and skies, access to markets, freedom o trade, and an orderly state system that prefers peace to war.” Even those subjected to an empire may see some benefit. Jawaharlal Nehru, who became Prime Minister of India after being a leader in tha nation’s independence struggle, observed that “a conquest, with all its evils, has one advantage: it widens the mental horizon of the people and compels them to look out of their shells.” Many who write about contact dismiss the idea of interstellar empires because the distances between the stars, and the energy and time needed to traverse them, would make the central administration of such an empire Assumptions: After Contact