expansionism
Growing national borders
Expansionism is the policy or practice of extending a nation's territory or influence, typically through military conquest, colonization, or economic domination.
The term usually carries critical connotations, suggesting aggressive or unjustified growth: 19th-century American expansionism pushed westward to the Pacific.
It applies to empires, ideologies, or corporations seeking to enlarge their reach.
Domain under unified control
- hegemonyDominant group's control
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
subjugation · supremacy · territorial · dominion · colonialism · sphere of influence · protectorate · mandate
Ideology uniting dispersed peoples
- ultranationalismExtreme supremacist patriotism
- revanchismPolicy seeking lost territory
- jingoismBellicose extreme patriotism
- chauvinismMilitant devotion to group
ethnonationalism · national unification · self-determination · manifest destiny · fatherland · motherland
Forcible entry into territory
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- warfareArmed conflict between groups
- aggressionHostile or attacking behavior
force · assault · belligerence · bellicosity · gunboat diplomacy · military intervention · war of conquest · subjugation
Land under jurisdiction
- acquisitionAct of obtaining something
- seizureForcible taking or convulsion
- takeoverAssuming command of something
- incorporationForming a legal entity
absorption · appropriation · occupation · encroachment · land grab · territorial claim · unification · integration
Established body of teachings
- manifest destinyObvious, inescapable fate
- geopoliticsGeography's role in statecraft
- foreign policyInternational relations strategy
- sphere of influenceZone of dominant authority
Monroe Doctrine · Truman Doctrine · containment · détente · diplomacy · realpolitik · balance of power · soft power
Resolved dispute or colony
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- trading postRemote commerce station
- outpostRemote military station
exploitation · indigenous · missionary · civilizing mission · scramble for Africa · settler · frontier · colonial administration
empire
Domain under unified control
- hegemonyDominant group's control
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
sovereignty · subjugation · supremacy · territorial · dominion · colonialism · sphere of influence · protectorate · mandate · overseas
pan-nationalism
Ideology uniting dispersed peoples
- ultranationalismExtreme supremacist patriotism
- revanchismPolicy seeking lost territory
- jingoismBellicose extreme patriotism
chauvinism · ethnonationalism · national unification · self-determination · manifest destiny · fatherland · motherland
invasion
Forcible entry into territory
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- warfareArmed conflict between groups
aggression · force · assault · belligerence · bellicosity · gunboat diplomacy · military intervention · war of conquest · subjugation · pacification
territory
Land under jurisdiction
- acquisitionAct of obtaining something
- seizureForcible taking or convulsion
- takeoverAssuming command of something
incorporation · absorption · appropriation · occupation · encroachment · land grab · territorial claim · unification · integration · cession
doctrine
Established body of teachings
- manifest destinyObvious, inescapable fate
- geopoliticsGeography's role in statecraft
- foreign policyInternational relations strategy
sphere of influence · Monroe Doctrine · Truman Doctrine · containment · détente · diplomacy · realpolitik · balance of power · soft power · mercantilism
settlement
Resolved dispute or colony
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- trading postRemote commerce station
outpost · exploitation · indigenous · missionary · civilizing mission · scramble for Africa · settler · frontier · colonial administration · extraction
- 1840s-1850sOregon Trail, California Gold Rush, Mexican-American War, Manifest Destiny, Underground Railroad
- Antebellum Politicsmanifest destiny, states' rights, nullification, secession, sectionalism
- Imperial JapanEmperor Hirohito, Hirohito, Rising Sun, Meiji, kamikaze
- Japanese EmpireManchuria, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hirohito
- Pacific expansionprovisional government, overthrow, Queen Liliuokalani, statehood, Guam
- territorial expansionannexing, colonization, conquest, land grab, land acquisition
expansionismisolationism
Policy avoiding foreign alliances
non-interventionism · insularity · withdrawal · retrenchment · neutralism
expansionismretrenchment
Reduction of expenditures
consolidation · minimalism · downsizing · steady-state · contraction
expansionismcession
Formal transfer of territory
decolonization · retrenchment · partition · secession · dismemberment
- territorial expansionismPursuing larger national boundaries