Niall Ferguson, professor of political and financial history at Oxford University, spoke last night at the Medical Sciences Building about his latest book, Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order.
The event, which was put on by the U of T Bookstore Series, attracted a packed auditorium of listeners. Ferguson drew direct parallels between the British Empire of the nineteenth century and the United States’ current system of world dominance.
He concluded that the British had a better system of colonization. Ferguson stated that Britain and the U.S. took two different courses on “how to run former rogue regimes.” The British, he argued, not only invested military and economic might, but administrative personnel. It is this latter factor, Ferguson said, that determined the success of former British colonies compared to what he predicts will be failed U.S. post-war reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
He also argued that the “economics of empire and civil administration” allowed the British to successfully colonize many parts of the world for well over a century. Ferguson added that “out of all colonies, those who were owned by Britain have been better able to establish long-lasting democracies.”
One of the most stunning examples of similarity between the two world powers which Ferguson used was their mutual activities in Iraq. In 1917, the British took control of Baghdad, and remained there as de facto rules until 1958.
The U.S., who are currently in control of Iraq, have not set a date on how long they intend to stay there. “Currently, it appears as though the Marines are in line to run the country,” Ferguson remarked. While he commended these men for their military prowess, he said they are not equipped to run the government.
Ferguson’s most powerful message was that the U.S. lacks the political administration which the British invested in Iraq and its other colonies. “The U.S. has economic and military power, but no talent or staying power,” he said. He backed this up by citing the current general lack of public interest in Middle Eastern affairs in the United States.
“This year,” he commented, “Yale will only produce one post-graduate student of Middle Eastern Studies.” This absence of scholarship in Middle Eastern affairs, he said, is one of the main reasons the U.S. will not be able to establish a democracy in Iraq immediately, or in the near future.
“MBA Graduates of Harvard are more interested in working on Wall Street than in running Iraq,” he remarked. He contrasted this with Britain’s successful history of sending qualified scholars and administrators to establish order and a rule of law in newly colonized nations.
With the upcoming election, he stated even U.S. President George W. Bush will be side-tracked by domestic concerns, like the flailing U.S. economy.
Public interest in post-war reconstruction will wane further, he added.
Whereas the British stayed in Iraq for 40 years, “American voters think they will be there 40 days,” he said.
Niall Ferguson’s book, which expands on the history of the British Empire, is currently available at the U of T Bookstore.
