Identity as a social construct of empire: then and now

Abstract

Identity has played a role in the maintenance of every empire throughout the centuries. Empires such as the Babylonian, Assyrian, Persian, Greek under the leadership of Alexander the Great, as well as the Roman Empire, maintained their unity through identity. This was precisely because at the heart of identity was the social, cultural and moral formation of an empire which were also characterised by various rituals. Thus one may argue that identity played a role in the stability of empires. One of the strengths of colonialism was to perpetuate a mindset that sought to preserve an imperial identity through Christianity. In the 21st century, imperial identity as an ideology seems to be one of the pillars of countries such as America, China, and Europe. One can argue that there are such fragments in the manner in which Africa seems to be addressing issues of economy and political autonomy. The American use of biblical texts forms one of the ideologies that seek to safeguard imperial identity through political and economic authority and hegemony. In this article I attempt to show how identity plays a fundamental role in sustaining the imperial ideologies as well as political authority and hegemony. I further argue that the theoretical framework of Black Theology and Black Consciousness could be used to underpin the deconstruction of Neo-colonialism through identity formation.