World domination (also called global domination, world conquest, or global conquest) is a hypothetical power structure in which a single political authority holds power over all or virtually all the inhabitants of Earth.
Various rulers or regimes have tried to achieve this goal in history. Global conquest was never attained. However, the matter is more complex with indirect or informal domination. Many historians, Kennedy,Paul (2002). "The Greatest superpower ever," New Perspectives Quarterly, vol 19/2. Ferguson, Niall (2005). Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire. (New York: Penguin Books), p 17. Maier, Charles S. (2006) Among Empires: American Ascendancy and Its Predecessors. (Massachusetts & London: Harvard University Press), p 1. The British Academy political scientistsCohen, Eliot A. (July–August 2004). "History and the hyperpower". Foreign Affairs. 83 (4): 49–63.Walter Russell Mead (March – April 2004). "America's sticky power," Foreign Policy, vol 141: p 48. and policy-makersVedrine, Hubert & Moisi, Dominique (2001). France in an Age of Globalization, (tr. Gordon, Philip H., Washington: Brookings Institutions Press), p 2. argue that the United States attained global hegemony since 1945 or 1991, or even the British Empire in the 19th century.Go, Julian (2011). Patterns of Empire: The British and American Empires, 1688 to the Present. (New York: Cambridge University Press), p 23.Lal, Deepak (2004). In Praise of Empires: Globalization and Order. (New York: Palgrave), p XX.Ferguson, Niall (2003). Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power. (New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0465023282), p XII, XXVII, 370.
The theme of world domination has often been used in works of fiction, particularly in political fiction, as well as in conspiracy theories (which may posit that some person or group has already secretly achieved this goal), particularly those fearing the development of a "New World Order" involving a world government of a totalitarian nature.
History
While various empires and hegemonies over the course of history have been able to expand and dominate large parts of the world, none have come close to conquering all the territory on Earth. However, these powers have had a global impact in cultural and economic terms that is still felt today. Some of the largest and more prominent empires include:
The Roman Empire was established by the late-Republican state of ancient Rome. The republican government turned into imperial following Octavian's assumption of sole rule under the Principate in 31 BC. Since Octavian, the Empire was ruled by emperors. It included territory in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 conventionally marks the end of classical antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The Mongol Empire, which in the 13th century under Genghis Khan came to control the largest continuous land empire in the world, spanning from East Asia to the Middle East and Eastern Europe. It eventually fractured and ended with the fall of the Yuan dynasty, which was established by Kublai Khan. It reached its greatest extent in 1309, when it controlled the region through which the Silk Road trade route ran. The Spanish Empire under the Habsburg monarchy and Iberian Union, which controlled vast areas of Europe, the Americas, Africa and some parts of Asia. The empire collapsed in a process that started in the Thirty Years' War and the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first global empire in human history, being the first referred to as the empire on which the sun never sets and having pretensions (especially during the Spanish Habsburg era) to being the secular leaders of worldwide Christendom and the sword of the Pope against their opponents, the Protestant Reformers of Northern Europe, the Regalism of the Kingdom of France, the Islamic world, pagans from the West Indies and East Indies, and all the enemies of the Catholic Church in their Christian mission to evangelise the world. The Russian Empire, which controlled vast areas of Eurasia stretching from the Baltic region to Outer Manchuria, reaching its largest extent in 1895. The empire collapsed during the February Revolution in 1917, which saw Tsar Nicholas II abdicate. The cultural and economic unity of the Russian Empire allowed the rise of its successor state, the Soviet Union, a superpower whose military strength and ideology were major forces in global politics during the 20th century. The British Empire, originating under Elizabeth I, was the largest empire in history. By 1921, the British Empire reached its height and dominated a quarter of the globe, controlling territory on each continent. The empire went through a long period of decline and decolonization following the end of the Second World War, which had brought it close to bankruptcy, until it ceased to be a dominant force in world affairs. English is still the official language in many countries, most of which were former British colonies, and is widely spoken as a second language around the world. The Industrial Revolution that took place in the United Kingdom from the 18th century was spread to the rest of the globe through the expansion of the British Empire, enabling the development of an industrialized global economy. The American Empire is a disputed concept referring to the sphere of informalPreston, Andrew (2021). "America’s global imperium". The Oxford World History of Empire. (Eds. Peter Fibiger Bang et al. Oxford University Press), p. 1223. and indirectDavid A. Lake (2024). Indirect Rule: The Making of US International Hierarchy. (Cornell University Press).Ali, Tariq & Barsamian, David (2005). Speaking of Empire and Resistance: Conversations with Tariq Ali. (New York: New Press), p 17-18. domination by the United States. According to proponents of the concept,Pizzo, David (2016). "Informal empire." (2016). The Encyclopedia of Empire. (Ed. MacKenzie, John M. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN 9781118440643), p 8. the history of the American Empire begins in the Latin America following the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, extends to the non-Soviet sphere of the Old World since 1945 and to the post-Soviet space in Europe since 1991. In size, the US Empire exceeds the British EmpireDarwin, John (2008). After Tamerlane: The Global History of Empire since 1405. (New York: Bloomsbury Press), p 470. and some scholars claim that the US Empire is global in scope.Berg, Manfred (2016). "America, United States of: 20th century to the present." The Encyclopedia of Empire. (Ed. MacKenzie, John M. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN 9781118440643), p 3.Mann, Michael (2012). The Sources of Social Power: Global Empires and Revolution, 1890– 1945. (Cambridge), vol 3, p 2.Mead, Walter Russell (March – April 2004). "America's Sticky Power," Foreign Policy, vol 141, p 48.Kennedy, Paul (2002). "The Greatest Superpower Ever," New Perspectives Quarterly, vol 19 (2).
By the early 21st century, wars of territorial conquest were uncommon and the world's nations could attempt to resolve their differences through multilateral diplomacy under the auspices of global organizations like the United Nations, World Trade Organization, or, with equal perspectives, the Pope. A more secure strategy was allying with the United States, as did almost all developed states and many others. The United States, however, undermined its credibility in 2025 when it recognized all Russian conquests in Ukraine. Except Russia, the world's superpowers and potential superpowers rarely attempt to exert global influence through the types of territorial empire-building seen in history, but the world's leading superpower permanently exerts global influence through the type of non-territorial empire-building also seen in history:
Domination, according to Michael W. Doyle, is possible without territorial conquest. Some international relations display all features of territorial conquest except a conqueror’s flag.Doyle, Michael (1986). Empires. (Cornell University Press), p 33. The influence of historical territorial empires is still important and the non-territorial world domination is practiced.
Ideologies
The aspiration to rule 'the four corners of the universe' has been the hallmark of imperial ideologies worldwide since the beginning of history.
Egypt The Egyptian King was believed to rule 'all under the sun.' On Abydos Stelae, Thutmose I claimed: "I made the boundaries of Egypt as far as the sun encircles."Ancient Records of Egypt, (ed. James Henry Breasted, Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2001), vol 2/98, p 40. The Story of Sinuke tells that the King has "subdued all that the sun encircles."Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Reading, ed. Miriam Lichtheim, London: University of California Press, vol I, p 230. The Hymn of Victory of Thutmose III and the Stelae of Amenophis II proclaimed that no one makes a boundary with the King and there is "no boundary for him towards all lands united, towards all lands together."Ancient Records of Egypt, vol 2/792, p 311;Mario Liverani, Prestige and Interest: International Relations in the Near East c. 1600 – 1100 BC, Padova: Palgrave, 1990, p. 58. Thutmose III was also acknowledged: "None presents himself before thy majesty. The circuit of the Great Circle [Ocean] is included in thy grasp."Ancient Records of Egypt, vol 2/657–661, pp. 264–265.
Mesopotamia The prestigious title of King of the Universe appeared in Ancient Mesopotamia, being used by powerful monarchs claiming world domination, starting with the Akkadian king Sargon (2334–2284 BC). It was used in a succession of later empires claiming symbolical descent from Sargon's Akkadian Empire.Stevens, Kahtryn (2014). "The Antiochus Cylinder, Babylonian Scholarship and Seleucid Imperial Ideology" (PDF). The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 134: 66–88. . . During the early dynastic period in Mesopotamia (c. 2900–2350 BC), the rulers of the region's city-states (such as Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Umma, and Kish) would often launch invasions into regions and cities far from their own, generally with negligible consequences for themselves, in order to establish temporary and small empires to either gain or keep a superior position relative to the other city-states. Eventually this quest to be more prestigious and powerful than the other city-states resulted in a general ambition for universal rule. Since Mesopotamia was equated to correspond to the entire world and Sumerian cities had been built far and wide (cities the like of Susa, Mari and Assur were located near the perceived corners of the world) it seemed possible to reach the edges of the world (at this time thought to be the lower sea, the Persian gulf, and the upper sea, the Mediterranean).Liverani, Mario (2013). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. Routledge. . The title šar kiššatim was perhaps most prominently used by the kings of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, more than a thousand years after the fall of the Akkadian Empire.Levin, Yigal (2002). "Nimrod the Mighty, King of Kish, King of Sumer and Akkad". Vetus Testamentum. 52 (3): 350–366. .
Persia