帝国主義

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 帝国主義 (ていこくしゅぎ) is a compound noun for an ideology and policy of expanding power through political or economic domination of other regions.
• Basic usage: 帝国主義が与えた影響 makes the historical force the subject examined in class, while 帝国主義への批判 marks the ideology criticized in a novel’s background.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Historical impact and target of criticism
  • 帝国主義が marks a system acting upon regions, while 帝国主義への marks the target of criticism. The term does not merely mean a state bearing an imperial title.