<div dir="ltr"><div>Interesting observation! Thanks for sharing!<br></div><div>Personally, I would say that's a necessary but insufficient characteristic of imperial overstretch.</div><div>A lot of countries (including rich and powerful ones) have a share of run-down key infrastructures (you rightly mentioned Germany and US), but their respective governments are still in control of their territory and unlikely to collapse in smaller units any time soon (having said that, I'm horrible at predictions...).</div><div><br></div><div>Just my two cents :)</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div><br></div><div>Riccardo<br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 11:48 AM Niels ten Oever <<a href="mailto:mail@nielstenoever.net">mail@nielstenoever.net</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><br>
Hi all,<br>
<br>
I was reading through the infrastructure book by Dirk van Laat [0] and was reading about the lifecycle of infrastructures, here roads and bridges are mentioned as well as the near permanent maintenance deficit they are under in the US and Germany. I was wondering: to what extend is this similar to the investment of Great Britain in the telegraph, discussed yesterday in 'Telegraphic Imperialism'? In other words, can a main characteristic of imperial overstretch be defined as the inability to maintain or renew existing infrastructures that play a key role in society?<br>
<br>
Am also still looking through the books below (x2) as well as some new ones for our future planning - please do let me know if you have books or topics to suggest for joint reading! For instance, if you all would like to read more about submarine cables, colonialism, historical infrastructures, modern infrastructures, quantum, telecommunications, China, Russia, Latin America, etc, that is all excellent - please do let us know :)<br>
<br>
The tentacles of progress : technology transfer in the age of imperialism, 1850-1940 / Daniel R. Headrick.<br>
<br>
Lightning wires : the telegraph and China's technological modernization, 1860-1890 / Erik Baark<br>
<br>
Power over peoples : technology, environments, and western imperialism, 1400 to the present / Daniel R. Headrick<br>
<br>
Technology: a world history Daniel R. Headrick<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
<br>
Niels<br>
<br>
[0] Van Laak, Dirk. 2023. Lifelines of Our Society: A Global History of Infrastructure. MIT Press.<br>
<br>
> <br>
> Dalrymple, William. 2019. The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company. Bloomsbury Publishing.<br>
> <br>
> Deudney, Daniel. 2020. Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity. Oxford University Press, USA.<br>
> <br>
> Knox, Hannah, and Penny Harvey. 2015. Roads: An Anthropology of Infrastructure and Expertise. Cornell University Press. <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/57674/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://muse.jhu.edu/book/57674/</a>.<br>
> <br>
> Long, Pamela O. 2019. Engineering the Eternal City: Infrastructure, Topography, and the Culture of Knowledge in Late Sixteenth-Century Rome. University of Chicago Press. <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7208/9780226591315/html" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7208/9780226591315/html</a>.<br>
> <br>
> Swenson, Edward. 2024. Infrastructures of Religion and Power: Archaeologies of Landscape, Ritual, and Semiotics. Taylor & Francis.<br>
> <br>
> Van Laak, Dirk. 2023. Lifelines of Our Society: A Global History of Infrastructure. MIT Press.<br>
> <br>
> This might be a bit too Europe focused for us, but the series approach looks really great:<br>
> <br>
> Diogo, Maria Paula, and Dirk van Laak. 2016. Europeans Globalizing: Mapping, Exploiting, Exchanging. Making Europe : Technology and Transformations, 1850-2000. London: Palgrave Macmillan.<br>
> <br>
> Fickers, Andreas, and Pascal Griset. 2019. Communicating Europe: Technologies, Information, Events. Making Europe : Technology and Transformations, 1850-2000. London: Palgrave Macmillan.<br>
> <br>
> Högselius, Per, and Erik van der Vleuten. 2016. Europe’s Infrastructure Transition: Economy, War, Nature. Making Europe : Technology and Transformations, 1850-2000. Houndmills, Basingstoke Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. <a href="https://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1613/2015001279-t.html" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1613/2015001279-t.html</a>.<br>
> <br>
> Kaiser, Wolfram, and J. W. Schot. 2014. Writing the Rules for Europe: Experts, Cartels, and International Organizations. Making Europe : Technology and Transformations, 1850-2000. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.<br>
> Trischler, Helmuth, and Martin Kohlrausch. 2014. Building Europe on Expertise: Innovators, Organizers, Networkers. Making Europe : Technology and Transformations, 1850-2000. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. <a href="http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=43809" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=43809</a>.<br>
> <br>
<br>
-- <br>
Niels ten Oever, PhD<br>
Co-Principal Investigator - critical infrastructure lab - University of Amsterdam<br>
Assistant Professor - Department of European Studies - University of Amsterdam<br>
<br>
W: <a href="https://criticalinfralab.net" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://criticalinfralab.net</a><br>
W: <a href="https://nielstenoever.net" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://nielstenoever.net</a><br>
PGP: 4254 ECD5 D4CF F6AF 8B91 0D9F EFAD 2E49 CC90 C10C<br>
<br>
<br>
-- <br>
Infrastructure-readinggroup mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Infrastructure-readinggroup@criticalinfralab.net" target="_blank">Infrastructure-readinggroup@criticalinfralab.net</a><br>
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</blockquote></div><div><br clear="all"></div><br><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div>Riccardo Nanni</div><div>Researcher in data governance<br></div><div>Digital Commons Lab, Fondazione Bruno Kessler</div><div><br></div><div>Adjunct professor in "Technology, Politics and Human Rights"</div><div>University of Padova<br></div><div><br></div><div>Member of the editorial board<br><a href="https://phrg.padovauniversitypress.it/" target="_blank">Peace Human Rights Governance (PHRG)</a><br></div><div><br></div><div>Check out my latest work!</div><div>Nanni, R. (2024). <i><a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-97-0357-9" target="_blank">Rising China and Internet Governance</a>.</i> Palgrave Macmillan. <br></div><div><p>
Maccabiani, E.,
Usmani, M., Nanni, R.,
& Napolitano, M.
(2025). <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi14010017" target="_blank">Investigating Social Vulnerability to Extreme Heat</a>: Heat
Islands and Climate Shelters in Urban Contexts: The Case of Bologna. <i>ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information</i>, <i>14</i>(1), 17.
</p></div><div><div> <span>Nanni,
R.</span>, <span>Bizzaro,
P. G.</span>, & <span>Napolitano,
M.</span> (<span>2024</span>). <span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.424" target="_blank">The false promise of individual digital sovereignty in Europe</a>: Comparing
artificial intelligence and data regulations in China and the European
Union</span>. <i>Policy & Internet</i>, <span>1</span>–<span>16</span>. </div></div></div></div>
<br>
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