| Summary: | Traditional theories of imperialism have tended to be
defined almost exclusively in terms of European motives, as
a simple projection of European state power. Collaboration
theorists have challenged the Eurocentric perspective of the
orthodox view of imperialism. According to Ronald Robinson,
a more comprehensive theory would include an analysis of the
most important mechanism of European management of the
non-European world: the use of loyal, local collaborator
groups as mediators between Europe and the indigenous
political and economic system. This paper will examine the
collaborationist's conceptualization of loyalty. It will be.
suggested that Robinson's formalistic approach, typical of
the nation-building school, cannot account for the
continued loyalty of Canadians to Great Britain . By
following a functional approach, it can be seen that loyalty
is a psychological phenomena unlimited in its scope. From
this perspective, it can be seen how loyalty to the Empire
provided the necessary psychological unity for Canadians as
they assumed greater political sovereignty.
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