Krishan Kumar's 2017 comparative study of how empires — Roman, Ottoman, Habsburg, British, Russian/Soviet, American — constructed and projected their ruling identities, arguing that imperial identity differs fundamentally from national identity.
Provides a comparative framework for understanding imperial self-legitimation — Kumar demonstrates that successful empires project universal civilizational missions (Rome's civitas, Britain's civilization, Soviet Communism) rather than ethnic nationalist claims, because empires must rule diverse populations who cannot be included in an ethnic nation.
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