From Empire to DAO: Lessons in Power, Sovereignty, and the Future of Governance

The British Empire: Power and Paradox

The history of European colonialism is often told through the lens of its greatest empire — the British. At its height, Britain controlled vast swathes of the globe, shaping economies, languages, and political systems on every continent. The British Empire left behind railways and legal codes, but also deep scars of exploitation, dispossession, and cultural erasure. It is tempting to single Britain out for special criticism, but history suggests that had any other European power been in Britain’s position, the outcome would likely have been no more benevolent — and possibly worse.

Other Empires and Their Ambitions

We saw what happened when Nazi Germany sought to expand: a project of conquest and extermination that dwarfed even the most brutal imperial episodes of the 19th century. Italy’s Benito Mussolini, envious of Britain’s global reach, famously set out to restore the “glory” of the Roman Empire, launching an invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935. This was no act of noble revival, but another imperial adventure — marked by chemical warfare, mass killings, and suppression of resistance. Had Italy, Germany, or others possessed Britain’s maritime supremacy and economic reach, there is little reason to think their empires would have been any less ruthless.

The Continuity of Power in Geopolitics

Empires have always been about power: projecting it abroad to control resources, trade routes, and populations. The flags change, but the logic remains. Today’s geopolitical rivalries follow much the same script. The war in Ukraine is often framed as a battle of democracy versus autocracy. But strip away the moral slogans, and it looks like another contest in the long-running effort to preserve — or break — Western dominance. Russia seeks to assert itself, the West seeks to maintain primacy, and Ukraine is caught as a pawn in the middle. Iran, too, is entangled in these global struggles, both resisting Western pressure and exerting its own brand of repression.

Neither West nor East Escapes Criticism

This is not to draw moral equivalence between systems. As much as I can sympathise with the Russian position in this geopolitical game, I would not wish to live under the authoritarianism of Moscow or Tehran. Nor can I ignore the West’s hypocrisy: at home, a veneer of democracy; abroad, a history of exploiting resources, manipulating governments, and enforcing economic dependency.

Britain’s Enduring Governance Legacy

Britain, for all its imperial abuses, also gave the world some of its most enduring governance innovations. The Magna Carta of 1215 established the radical notion that rulers are subject to law. Common law created an evolving, precedent-based system of justice adaptable to new realities. These ideas — limitations on power, consent of the governed, and transparent rules — resonate strongly in today’s digital age.

From Common Law to Blockchain Governance

In the emerging world of blockchain, Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) embody a similar ethos. Code and community replace kings and parliaments; rules are transparent and enforceable; decision-making is collective. Across the globe, even outside the crypto sphere, people are seeking self-sustaining, self-governing communities — a shift away from the centralised nation-state model that dominated the last two centuries. In some places, these communities already use cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange, bypassing the traditional banking and political systems that have long mediated (and restricted) economic life.

The Fight for Self-Sovereignty

It is an appealing vision: a network of free, autonomous communities, trading and cooperating without domination. But history warns us that entrenched powers rarely yield without a fight. The same forces that once defended empire now defend the supremacy of the nation-state and the centralised economy. They will resist any move toward genuine sovereignty — whether it comes in the form of local governance or decentralised technology.

A Turning Point in History

And so we find ourselves at another turning point. The lessons of empire, the hypocrisies of the present, and the possibilities of the future all point to the same truth: power is never given; it must be claimed, shared, and defended. Whether the next chapter is written by states, corporations, or communities will depend on who has the courage — and the organisation — to seize it.