Empires continue to influence modern societies even though most appear to have disappeared, according to a new book co-edited by City University London academic Professor Ronen Palan.

Legacies of Empire: Imperial Roots of the Contemporary Global Order features examples from across the globe that suggest old empires leave their mark on the regions they used to cover.

Professor Palan, of the Department of International Politics, says there is evidence that past empires have had long-term effects on politics, culture, legal systems and other institutions.

For example, it is argued that although the British Empire has disappeared from maps of the world, it remains alive in the international finance industry.

In his conclusion with co-editor Professor Sandra Halperin (of Royal Halloway, University of London) the City academic says modern nation states have been shaped by the empires that they emerged out of over the past 200 years.

Discussing the new book, Professor Palan said: In the twenty-first century, we tend to see the world as made up of independent states and forget the empires that came before them. Often, we envision a planet separated into bounded national units that have replaced empires, which appear to have disappeared without a trace.

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
publication date: August 2015
ISBN: 9781316271674