The British establishment is adopting methods of rule similar to those used in the colonial era, according to an essay by David Betz and Michael Rainsborough. The authors argue that Western governing elites, including those in Britain, are abandoning the nation-state model in favor of an imperial conception of political authority.
In Britain, successive governments have encouraged immigration, which has led to communal divisions that are being managed through methods familiar from imperial administration. The imperial reflex, imported into the British domestic realm, is characterized by divide and rule tactics, where officials cultivate influential intermediaries and distribute recognition, privileges, and patronage to secure cooperation.
This approach is similar to that used in British colonial administration, where officials classified communities by ethnicity, religion, and customary authority, and built dependent constituencies to sustain their authority. The authors argue that this approach will prove destabilizing and weaken the common national allegiance upon which the legitimacy of the state depends.