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2 years ago in Economic History , Global History By Nidhi S
What are the latest or most influential scholarly works examining the concept of "imperialism on the cheap" through the lens of corporate actors, like the East India Companies?
The phrase describes states outsourcing colonization to companies. I'm familiar with classic studies of the VOC or EIC, but I'm looking for 21st-century scholarship that applies this framework comparatively or to later entities, and that critically engages with theories of capitalism and empire.
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By Amir Answered 1 year ago
Recent scholarship has moved beyond single-company narratives to comparative and connective analyses. I recommend "The Corporation as a Protagonist in Global History, c. 1550-1750" (eds. Pettigrew & Gopalan) and Philip J. Stern's The Company-State, which meticulously analyzes the EIC's sovereign claims. For a theoretical refresh, "Chartering Capitalism" (eds. Erikson) explores how organizing economic life through corporations was central to early modern globalization. These works critically dissect how these entities were hybrid "company-states," blurring lines between commerce and sovereignty, and how their legacy informs modern multinational corporations. The latest trend is to see them not as anomalies but as core, revealing engines of a globalizing capitalist system.
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