Europe constituted its own identity through overseas expansion

Evidence

What this story misses is that Europe did not simply expand overseas; it made itself through that expansion. It also underemphasizes the role that Europeans—especially those who inhabit the United States—still play in regulating “world-wide society,” a role that is by no means “modest.” The borders of political Europe have varied not only over time, but also according to the European model governing global relations. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 837

Adam Watson summarizes the story: “The expansion of Europe was neither uniform nor systematic. It occurred over several centuries, for a number of reasons, and assumed many different forms. Chronologically we can distinguish in retrospect four main phases. First came the medieval crusades into Iberia and round the Baltic. The second phase covered three centuries of competitive maritime exploration and expansion and the parallel evolution of a European international society. Thirdly in the nineteenth century the industrial revolution enabled the European Concert to encompass the entire globe and to administer most of it. Lastly in our own century the tide of European dominion ebbed, and was replaced by a world-wide society based on the European model but in which Europeans now play only a modest role.” What this story misses is that Europe did not simply expand overseas; it made itself through that expansion. It also underemphasizes the role that Europeans—especially those who inhabit the United States—still play in regulating “world-wide society,” a role that is by no means “modest.” The borders of political Europe have varied not only over time, but also according to the European model governing global relations. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 837

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the reflexive constitution argument familiar from postcolonial theory — Europe’s self-formation through its ‘other’ — relevant to how the reader’s immodesty piece treats Europe’s self-image via moral panics.
• SEED: Angle: ‘Europe made itself through expansion’ as a template for understanding how secular modernity defines itself against the Muslim other it administers.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 837