The question is whether there is an empire and if there is one, then what are its boundaries, conceptual or geographical? What is imperialism? Ulhas
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You should get the book and read it. Harvey sets up the conceptual framework very well, and in a more concrete way that Hardt and Negri. In fact, I was thinking that Harvey's version of the empire brings out the framework for understanding a lot better than most of the things I've read, and it is about the current world so there is are no anachronisms to deal with---which imo get in the way of older works. It is also very quick reading.
Brieftly, he outlines the combination of spatial and temporal arrangements and then mixes and matches these to the dynamics of capitalism and states, covering finance and production, national policies and international agencies (IMF, WTO, GATT, TRIPPS, WB) along with regional consortiums like EU and Asian varieties (forgot the names).
The result answers the question what empire---it is political, economic, geographic and conceptual.
CG