Examples Of Defensive Imperialism

‘Defensive Imperialism’ is one of the oldest and most closely related theories adopted by the Romans in their reasoning behind imperialism and expansion, proposed by Theodor Mommsen and later Tenney Frank. As Rome felt threatened by powerful neighbouring cities subsequently she often responded with offensive action, maintaining control over the enemy’s territory ‘to prevent a revanche’. The Fetial law states that war was only fought for res repetitae (obtain compensation for wrongs suffered), as Polybius argues that Romans needed a pre-text that would appeal to foreign opinion. This is also supported by the critic Harris, stating that Romans were unwilling to go to war unless it was seen as defensive.
One main strength of the theory is that is understandable, why if a power felt threatened, they would take action against a threat, and seek control over it. This can most notably be seen in the movement of the
Moreover, Cicero admits he does have some uncertainties towards Rome’s motives for imperialism, in which some were fought for glory, but that force was always a last resort, but only when persuasion and discussion had failed. Brunt also remains hostile towards the Roman’s perception of what constituted a threat, commenting that they “resolved those of a nervous tiger, disturbed when feeding” also implying that the Romans took action when unneeded or unjustified, and when their economic advantages were