Imperialism is essentially a phenomenon of force and domination, on the one side, and subjugation and exploitation on the other, arising from the disparity and inequality between the imperialist and the subject nations and peoples. It arises whenever a political, economic, social, cultural and intellectual inequality and disparity exists in the international world. This inequality and disparity creates a “vacuum” or absence of political, economic, social, cultural and intellectual power and ability to resist aggression and intervention of the more advanced nations or States.
Once established, the imperialist domination lasts so long as the vacuum or conditions of inequality, disparity, backwardness and weakness lasts. All subsequent changes and development of the rise, fulfilment, decline and extinction of Imperialism are exactly proportionate to the nature and magnitude of the “vacuum” or the relative conditions of weakness, backwardness and disparity between the master and slave countries last in all aspects of their national life. Whenever the ’vacuum’ is filled, that is, when the conditions of disparity are wiped out, either by the growth of economic, political, social, cultural and intellectual power of the subject nation or by the decline of the economic, political, social and intellectual, and cultural power of the imperialist nation The domination and hold would of the imperialist also vanish.
This is what is happening in the present-day world since the First and Second World Wars. This theory has the merit of explaining the phenomenon of Imperialism both in time and space, both as a historical phenomenon and as a political, economic, social, cultural and intellectual process of the present times. It also explains the fact that it is capable of chamleon-like changes, as for example, from the political to economic imperialism.
It shows that no nation can really be free from imperialist domination till it becomes the equal of the advanced States of the world, in order to resist effectively all future or possible imperialist aggression and enslavement. Only when all the nations of the world will be dbsolutely equal in economic, political, social, intellectual and cultural achievements, will then Imperialism vanish from human history, society and politics. Then there will be no ‘vacuum’ or conditions for Imperialism to rise.