Expansionism is the propensity of a nation or company to expand , increasing its influence or dominance. In this way, expansionism implies an increase in power .
Generally, a State uses expansionism for economic purposes. There are various methods that allow expansionism to develop: in some cases a military attack is even resorted to to allow territorial annexation .
Expansionism can be linked to imperialism and colonialism . In any case, it is carried out in different ways and with multiple pretexts. There are countries that justify their expansionism on issues of the past, such as the loss of territories in ancient times or the intention to reunify several currently independent entities.
Beyond military dominance , expansionism makes it possible to control sources of raw materials and impose a culture . Many times it is also associated with achieving political submission .
The United States ' measures regarding Latin America constitute an example of expansionism. Its interventions in Panama at the beginning of the 20th century , the promotion of an invasion in Cuba in 1961 and its support for coups d'état in Guatemala , Chile and other countries show the American intention to impose its interests in the region.
Cuba , for its part, resorted to expansionism to try to establish socialism in Algeria , Congo , Bolivia and other territories. He also supported movements close to the ideology of his regime, such as Chavismo in Venezuela .
In a few words, therefore, we speak of expansionism to describe the intentions of a nation to expand its borders , to obtain new lands so that its territory becomes larger at the expense of those of other countries. These are not always neighbors, since the most important thing is to impose their own traditions and improve their military strategies, something that presents different demands depending on the time and the case.
With respect to expansionism in imperial states, it is common for their desires to revolve around taking advantage of the resources of others for their own benefit , without caring about the deterioration that this exploitation causes them economically. It is a ruthless imposition for selfish purposes that is not tolerated in a person, but in a country it can be hidden and sustained for a long time thanks to the manipulation of the news.
As mentioned in a previous paragraph, expansionism is also linked to colonialism. When Imperial Europe began to dominate different territories, both in Asia, Africa and America, it practiced what we define today as expansionism. These colonies sooner or later became independent, but the passage of Europeans through their lands left an indelible mark on their culture.
At the corporate level, expansionism is reflected in the objective of cornering the market , leaving out competitors. In this sense, company acquisitions and mergers are key to building a monopoly or oligopoly .
It is important to note that corporate expansionism can be practiced in various ways, through different paths, although the objective is always the same: dominate the market. The most obvious way is also the least refined: acquiring companies, large and small, that are already performing well in the market, with the intention of taking advantage of their success and boosting it with more money and influence .
But some companies take a more sneaky route: investing in teams of talented people in the hopes of seeing them grow and achieve big goals. In the long term, these teams become a fundamental part of the company, and expand it more and more, to a level that makes competition difficult given the versatility obtained by incorporating so many workers from different fields.