This article aims to present the trajectory of empires and imperialisms throughout the history of humanity that evolved into unified imperialism or global empire in the contemporary era. The old empires were driven by imperial states existing in antiquity until the 19th century, which were succeeded by imperialisms driven by national states from the 19th century until the second half of the 20th century when unified imperialism or global empire emerged from 1975. The military alliance against the Soviet Union was the first step taken by the imperialist countries towards the construction of a unified imperialism or global empire. The second step towards building a unified imperialism or global empire took place when all imperialist countries and their allies concluded that it was necessary to integrate global markets and the world economy as a strategy capable of promoting economic growth and increasing global profits of capitalism unleashing the process of contemporary globalization from the 1990s onwards. The third step towards the construction of a unified imperialism or global empire took place from 1990 onwards with the end of the Soviet Union and the socialist system of Eastern Europe, a fact that it further potentiated the process of contemporary globalization with the incorporation into capitalism of the markets of Russia and of the countries that were part of the socialist system of Eastern Europe.Unified imperialism or global empire came into being in 1975 when it was articulated through the G7, which is the group of the most industrialized countries in the world, composed of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom with participation , also, of the European Union. Organizations such as the IMF, World Bank, WTO (World Trade Organization) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) work articulately with the member countries of the G7 aiming at achieving the objectives of unified imperialism or global empire.

1. 1
FROM ANCIENT EMPIRE TO CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL EMPIRE
Fernando Alcoforado*
This article aims to present the trajectory of empires and imperialisms throughout the history of
humanity that evolved into unified imperialism or global empire in the contemporary era. The old
empires were driven by imperial states existing in antiquity until the 19th century, which were
succeeded by imperialisms driven by national states from the 19th century until the second half
of the 20th century when unified imperialism or global empire emerged from 1975. The old
empires arose in antiquity such as Ancient Egypt (3200 BC to 2300 BC), Greece (1100 BC to 146
BC), Macedonia (359 BC to 323 BC), Roman Empire (27 BC to 476 AD), the Mongol Empire
(1209 AD to 1368 AD), and the Qing Empire in China (1644 AD to 1912 AD). In the Middle
Ages, the Byzantine Empire (330 AD to 1453 AD), Islamic Arabic (between the 7th and 13th
centuries), Russian or Tsarist (1547 AD to 1917 AD), Spanish (1492 AD to 1975 AD) Portuguese
(1415 AD to 1999 AD), British (1583 AD to 1997 AD) and Dutch (since 1602 AD). Between the
first half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, French, German, Belgian and
Italian imperialism emerged, which together with British imperialism acted in the conquest of
colonies in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The ancient empires that existed in Antiquity and in the Middle Ages served the interests of each
imperial state aiming at its expansion and territorial, cultural and economic dominion over the
dominated peoples. In general, empires aimed to dominate and exploit the mineral and natural
resources of the conquered region, collect fees and taxes from the colonial population, disseminate
and implant the culture or religion of the colonizing country in colonized areas. In general,
imperialisms had the same objectives as the old empires, in addition to the purpose of
transforming colonies into markets for their products. The acquisition of new consumer markets
is pointed out by Eric Hobsbawm [1] as the great factor that pushed the industrialized imperialist
nations from the 19th century onwards to occupy new territories. According to Hobsbawm, at that
time, it was believed that the overproduction of existing goods would be solved by obtaining new
consumer markets. Thus, the occupation of new territories was seen as the solution to guarantee
the development of their own economies. From the 19th century onwards, imperialism can also
be called neocolonialism, as it was a new process of colonization of Africa, Asia and Oceania, as
continuity of the colonialism previously adopted by the Spanish, Portuguese and British empires
in the Americas, Africa and Asia.
Imperialism was responsible for the formation of gigantic overseas empires. The historian Eric
Hobsbawm points out that during the neocolonialist cycle, about 25% of the planet's lands were
occupied by some imperialist power [1]. England increased its territory by 10 million km2, France
by 9 million km2, Germany by 2.5 million km2 and Belgium and Italy by around 2 million km2.
The ancient empires that existed from antiquity to the 19th century and the imperialisms that
existed from the 19th century to the mid-20th century totally changed the organization of the
Earth's map because they destroyed the social organizations existing in the occupied territories
and their populations were victims of genocide and enslaved or placed under a cruel exploitation
of their work. One of the places most affected by imperialism from the 19th century onwards was
the African continent as a result of the violence of the European colonial administration on the
native populations, especially in the Belgian Congo, whose Belgian colonial administration was
responsible for the death of 10 million people, the intense exploitation of the African population
that left Africa with severe poverty and, also, the creation of artificial nations that contributed to
its political instability after gaining its independence. The most negative legacy of imperialism
was that of Germany which unleashed the 1st and 2nd World War which resulted in 100 million
deaths, spread the Nazi-fascist murderous ideology and commanded the greatest genocide in
history especially against Jews.
After the 2nd World War, decolonization took place when several colonial countries gained their
independence from the imperialist countries and American imperialism emerged, which acted
aiming at its expansion and territorial, cultural and economic domination throughout the world,
co-opting local governments and ruling classes and, in extreme cases, intervening militarily to

2. 2
secure their interests. Of all the imperialisms that have emerged throughout history, the German,
British, French and North American imperialisms have committed the greatest crimes against
humanity — from inter-imperialist wars such as the 1st and 2nd World War to the so-called
limited wars such as Korean War, the Vietnam War and the sponsorship of terror regimes such as
military dictatorships implemented through coups d'etat in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s,
including Brazil. With the support of local governments subordinated to their interests, the US
government and its allies sponsored all possible acts of state terrorism, which include illegal
arrests and detentions, torture, murders, among other actions. Thousands of people in Asia, Africa
and Latin America have suffered from these acts of state terrorism. The US government and its
allies have unleashed five large-scale wars of aggression—those in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan,
Libya, and Syria—and in the process profited from spoils such as oil resources, while the people
of these countries suffered terribly from imperialist terror in all these wars of aggression. The
most recent targets for the United States and its allies have been the attempt to overthrow the
Assad regimes in Syria and the ayatollahs in Iran with the support of Israel. The United States
and the other imperialist countries are responsible for the economic and social ruin of the
peripheral countries of the world.
After the 2nd World War, the Soviet Union, which played a fundamental role in the defeat of
Nazi-fascism, constituted itself as a counterpoint to the power of the United States by constituting
the system of socialist countries in Eastern Europe and supporting the anti-imperialist struggles
for socialism and of national liberation around the world. This confrontation between the Soviet
Union and the United States was called the Cold War because both indirectly fought each other.
In this period of the Cold War, the imperialist countries united in the military plan to face the
Soviet Union and its allies with the constitution of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
in 1949 under the leadership of the United States. In turn, the Soviet Union formed a military
alliance with the socialist countries creating the Warsaw Pact. The military alliance against the
Soviet Union was the first step taken by the imperialist countries towards the construction of a
unified imperialism or global empire. The second step towards building a unified imperialism or
global empire took place when all imperialist countries and their allies concluded that it was
necessary to integrate global markets and the world economy as a strategy capable of promoting
economic growth and increasing global profits of capitalism unleashing the process of
contemporary globalization from the 1990s onwards. The third step towards the construction of a
unified imperialism or global empire took place from 1990 onwards with the end of the Soviet
Union and the socialist system of Eastern Europe, a fact that it further potentiated the process of
contemporary globalization with the incorporation into capitalism of the markets of Russia and
of the countries that were part of the socialist system of Eastern Europe.
From 1990 onwards, all countries on the planet, with rare exceptions, joined the process of
economic globalization with the opening of markets in the countries of the world. Capital
investment flows from imperialist countries circulated throughout the planet, especially in those
countries where there were low labor costs and governments willing to collaborate with the
advancement of the globalization process. China, for example, has become attractive to foreign
investors because, in addition to having a gigantic market, it now has a complete industrial
production chain, scientific and technological capacity, a highly developed logistics system and
abundant low-cost human resources, being one of the countries that most benefited from
contemporary globalization. Unified imperialism or global empire came into being in 1975 when
it was articulated through the G7, which is the group of the most industrialized countries in the
world, composed of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United
Kingdom with participation , also, of the European Union. Organizations such as the IMF, World
Bank, WTO (World Trade Organization) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) work
articulately with the member countries of the G7 aiming at achieving the objectives of unified
imperialism or global empire. This articulation became quite clear when the unified imperialism
or global empire recently decided to penalize Russia with drastic economic sanctions and its
tycoons with the confiscation of their assets in Western countries due to Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.

3. 3
For the above, the unified imperialism or global empire seeks to make the rulers of the countries
be obedient to its dictates. This means that countries that do not obey the dictates of unified global
imperialism will suffer the same consequences faced by Russia today. This fact makes it evident
that unified imperialism or global empire represents a concrete threat against the sovereignty of
all countries in the world because it is a single world power, without borders, above any capitalist
power that has imposed a new global order that is in force in the contemporary era. In the past,
when imperialisms were national, there was competition between them for the conquest of
colonies, markets and world power. Today, national imperialisms have united to form a world
empire. In the past, the national liberation struggle of the dominated countries was against the
imperialism (German, French, British or North American) that dominated them. At present, the
national liberation struggle has become more unequal because all the imperialist countries have
joined together to form the unified imperialism or global empire. Faced with this fact, there is no
other alternative for countries that wish to free themselves from imperialist domination other than
to fight against unified imperialism or global empire by the creation of a new international system
that should work on the basis of a Planetary Social Contract (World Constitution) , a democratic
world government, a parliament and a world supreme court capable of opposing the global
empire. The world Government would be elected by the world Parliament whose members would
be democratically elected by the people of their countries. The best jurists in the world would be
chosen by the world Parliament to compose the Supreme Court for a fixed term.
The Planetary Social Contract should be drawn up by a World Constituent Assembly to be
convened by the UN General Assembly with the participation of representatives elected by all the
countries of the world. The Planetary Social Contract should establish the foundations of
international relations to be put into practice, contemplating the existence of a world government
whose president would be elected with more than 50% of the votes of the world parliament to be
also constituted. To ensure democratic practice and governance on planet Earth, world power
should be exercised by the world Parliament that, in addition to electing the President of the world
government, should draft and approve international laws based on the Planetary Social Contract.
The world Parliament should be composed of a determined and equal number of democratically
elected representatives of each country for this purpose. The President of the World Government
will only exercise the command of the World Government as long as he has the support of the
majority of the parliament If, by majority of the parliament, there is a need to replace the President
of the World Government this must be done.
The world government must have an organizational structure capable of dealing with international
relations, the military issue, the global economy, the global environment, education, health,
infrastructure, science and technology, among others, to dialogue with the world Parliament and
the countries that make up the international system. Parliamentarians should elect the governing
body of the world Parliament, which would have an appropriate organizational structure. The
World Supreme Court should be composed of high-level jurists from the world chosen by the
world Parliament who would act for a determined time who would elect the President of the Court
to fulfill a mandate for a determined time. In the light of the Planetary Social Contract, the World
Supreme Court should judge cases involving disputes between countries, crimes against humanity
and against nature practiced by national States and by rulers, judge conflicts that exist between
the world Government and the world Parliament and act as guardian of the Planetary Social
Contract. The World Government will not have its own Armed Forces, and must rely on the
support of the Armed Forces of the countries that would be called upon when necessary.
Therefore, with this system, the world government would seek to meet the interests of all countries
on the planet and the world parliament would legislate through a democratic process with the
participation of all countries in the world. There would be no need for a military structure linked
to the world government to act as the world's policeman because the President of the world
government would use the Armed Forces of certain countries that would be summoned when
necessary. The new rule of international law would be enforced by the three constituted powers:
World Government, World Parliament and World Supreme Court. The world power would rest
in the world government, the world parliament and the world supreme court. World power would

4. 4
not corrupt and would not be corrupted because there would be surveillance by all the powers that
be. World government, world Parliament and world Supreme Court would act as checks and
balances for the efficiency and effectiveness of the international system.
REFERENCE
[1] HOBSBAWM, Eric. A Era dos Impérios 1875-1914. Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 2014.
* Fernando Alcoforado, 82, awarded the medal of Engineering Merit of the CONFEA / CREA System,
member of the Bahia Academy of Education, and of the SBPC- Brazilian Society for the Progress of
Science, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development from the University of
Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of strategic planning, business planning, regional
planning, urban planning and energy systems, was Advisor to the Vice President of Engineering and
Technology at LIGHT S.A. Electric power distribution company from Rio de Janeiro, Strategic Planning
Coordinator of CEPED- Bahia Research and Development Center, Undersecretary of Energy of the State
of Bahia, Secretary of Planning of Salvador, is author of the books Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo,
1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um
Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado
da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de Barcelona,http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944,
2003), Globalização e Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do
Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The
Necessary Conditions of the Economic and Social Development- The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM
Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e
Catástrofe Planetária (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2010), Amazônia
Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa
Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011), Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social
(Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012), Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica
no Século XXI (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2015), As Grandes Revoluções Científicas, Econômicas e Sociais
que Mudaram o Mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2016), A Invenção de um novo Brasil (Editora CRV,
Curitiba, 2017), Esquerda x Direita e a sua convergência (Associação Baiana de Imprensa, Salvador,
2018), Como inventar o futuro para mudar o mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2019) and A humanidade
ameaçada e as estratégias para sua sobrevivência (Editora Dialética, São Paulo, 2021) .