Parliament and the free press acted as an ‘imperial factor’ constraining colonial administrators.

Evidence

The conscience of the nation, represented by Parliament and a free press, functioned, and was resented by colonial administrators, in all European countries with colonial possessions—whether England, France, Belgium, Germany, or Holland. In England, in order to distinguish between the imperial government seated in London and controlled by Parliament and colonial administrators, this influence was called the “imperial factor,” thereby crediting imperialism with the merits and remnants of justice it so eagerly tried to eliminate. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 361

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the ‘imperial factor’ concept — the moderating influence of metropolitan parliamentary conscience on colonial administration.