Loyalty and collaborationist theory : an alternative view to the collaboration theory’s conceptualization of loyalty

• Main Author: Moir, Michael Robert
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/6027

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.