Imperial Responsibility: The Exploitation of Indigenous Forces in Modern Empire Building

Abstract

Wars involving either Russia or the United States have been a mainstay of the 20th and 21st centuries, since the end of World War II, in their search of hegemonic dominance over the international world order. This search for supremacy has generated numerous questions regarding whether Russia or the United States should be viewed as Empires. When the question of Empire arises it tends to focus on how the indigenous populations that reside in these war zones may be affected. However, the question of how indigenous forces are used as a way to examine if states accept or deny imperial responsibility/empire is not a widespread topic. Therefore, this thesis is intended to answer that question. In the process it examines three case studies per country. First, looking at Russia's case studies: Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Crimea. Second, examining the United States' case studies: Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The research conducted for this thesis has provided a number of key findings regarding both countries. It has demonstrated, on the one hand, that Russia has created a framework for imperialization, which can be tailor fitted to the socio-cultural landscape of any state they desire to add to their imperial body. Consequently, this state should instead be viewed as the Neo-Russian Empire; a state that...