Mercantilism

• Mercantilism proved a major factor in motivating governments to expand their empire. In this economic position, overseas colonies were tasked with the production of raw materials in order to serve the mother country. By maximizing imports and keeping exports to a minimum and usually within the empire, nations that exercised mercantilism hoped to outstrip competing nations through economics. Expanding one's economic reach, according to this policy, was done through the expansion of the empire, and a major part of keeping the nation ahead of the others.
  
  

Control of Resources

• On occasion, certain resources were a vital part of remaining competitive with other nations' economies. An excellent example is the discovery of caches of gold in Mexico and America, causing a rush by many nations to claim the land for themselves. Even though Spain won this right, France and Britain were quick to challenge Spanish vessels in the area, especially those hauling gold. By expanding the empire in crucial areas as in this example, nations hoped to control the resources vital for their development and strength.
  
  

Border Buffers

• Throughout history, rulers have often demonstrated a preference of an unguarded border, rather than staff it militarily. One of the ways to create such a border was by either creating an alliance with neighboring countries or perhaps forcing potentially troublesome nations to remove their military assets from territories from which they might invade. An excellent example of this justification for imperialism is found in Korea, where neither the U.S. nor the Chinese are willing to withdraw their support from the area, preferring to keep either South or North Korea as a buffer zone between major democratic and communistic nations.
  
  

Preparation for Globalism

• Not all forms of imperialism require concrete overseas holdings. U.S. global influence, for example, is often equated with imperial designs. More commonly, however, economic ties with Western Europe during the Cold War formed an American hegemony that helped to resist a similar form of empire formed by the Soviets in Russia. Though both empire's eventually dissolved, the need for imperial strength makes globalism possible, which is the current international policy of U.S.