Imperialism begins when states send soldiers to protect speculators

Evidence

Genuine imperialism, as Hannah Arendt argued, began only when the government was asked to send soldiers to “protect” the insecure ventures and adventures of speculators. (Indeed, the Panama Canal could only be built once the Americans literally created a country to serve the project’s interests, by plucking the surrounding territory out of Colombia and then leasing the required land from its “independent” government.) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 132

Categorization

• DEFINE: Arendt’s definition: genuine imperialism is distinguished from mere adventurism by state military protection of private capital.