Why does the BBC History magazine have a special issue devoted to the British Empire in 2008?
Not too long ago imperialism was regarded as a historical phenomenon with no contemporary relevance. Only out of date Marxists continued to use the term. Today all this has changed and we have bestselling right wing historians like Niall Ferguson and Andrew Roberts not only celebrating the British Empire, but urging continued British support for the US empire, indeed arguing that the US ruling class has to become more imperially minded. It is the return of colonial wars to centre stage that has brought this about. To be blunt, the BBC History magazine has had a special issue on the empire because there are British troops fighting in the US’s colonial wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In it Professor Denis Judd “balances the books of the British Empire”. In his article he provides an assessment of the empire’s impact on eight countries, concluding that it was negative in three (Jamaica, Kenya and Iraq), too close to call in three (Australia, South Africa and Egypt) and positive in two (the
