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The article briefly discusses the history of Portugal's conquering and maintenance of its empire. This article examines enabling factors for the establishment of the Portuguese Empire in light of the relative lack of resources present at the time of the imperial conquest. The impact of ideology and religion in the Portuguese empire is examined. The article introduces the idea that charitable organizations known as Misericordias were pillars of the Portuguese Empire. The functions and political organization of Misericrdias are described. The author briefly discusses the fall of the Portuguese empire. This article is one in a series of articles on the topic of empires. References. E. Sundby

This article provides an outline of the history of the American Empire's rise and transformations. The analysis examines the political situation in America around 1800 when the country was established as a republic at a time when international imperialism was prevalent with still powerful British, French, and Spanish empires. The article argues that the territorial expansion within the North American continent was conducted within the realms of imperial ideology, although, unlike other empires, once included in the empire each state became an equal participant in the central authority. The article poses a new type of empire that have emerged in America following the second world war; an American Empire based on international alliances for the purpose of international and national security based on voluntary participation, although subject to economic support or sanction. The article suggests that the war on terrorism has brought power politics and alliances that mirror classic imperial ideals, with an increase in military presence to enforce imperial alliances. The author concludes that based on the problems experienced with imperialistic use of power in Afghanistan and Iraq it is unlikely that the U.S. is establishing a new classical empire. This article is one in a series of articles on the topic of empires. References. E. Sundby

This article summarizes and draws conclusions from a series of articles on the topic of empires. The article emphasizes the need to understand the history of empires to fully understand the complexity of the concept and to utilize the framework of imperial theories to analyze present day international relations. Four elements of empires are emphasized and reviewed. The four elements of empires are applied to the argument of imperial tendencies in America and the European Union. The main conclusion is that various empires throughout history have differed in areas of government, legitimacy, assimilation and integration, and duration, but that they also have certain fundamental similarities that can be applied to the analysis of imperial tendencies in current international relations. References. E. Sundby

Since small countries like Norway can seldom affect the policies of superpowers, an important question to ask is whether Norway could influence the human right situation in China through dialogue and co-operation? In the West, China has been known for human rights violations exemplified by the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. During the first decade of the 21st century the tone has changed, however. While the human right situation is still bad in China, the country has signed and ratified many UN conventions, engaged in human rights dialogues with Norway, Canada and Australia, and slowly increased the civil liberties of its citizens. The Norwegian dialogue with China has taken place on three levels: political consultation, roundtable discussions, and diplomat meetings. L. Pitkaniemi

This article examines whether the thesis of classical realism that political states are primarily motivated by the desire for military and economic power applies to the British Empire (1815-1914). The article questions to what extent the emergence of the British Empire (1815-1914) was driven by Britain's foreign policy to alter existing power structures in international relations. The article offers an overview of pre-imperial, imperial, and post-imperial strategies within the theory classical realism, and then applies these strategies to analyze the pre-imperial (1600-1815), imperial (1815-1914) period of the British Empire. A discussion of the post-imperial period focuses on Britain's maintenance of status quo and its alliance with the U.S. The article concludes that the theory of classical realism in international relations is useful to the discussion of the emergence, use, and maintenance of political power of the British Empire (1814-1915). This article is one in a series of articles on the topic of empires. References. E. Sundby