エドマンド・バークの帝国論

―自由と帝国のジレンマ―

抄録

British conceptions of empire were shaped by political arguments on liberty. This study revisits on Edmund Burke's empire thought in the light of the dilemma of liberty and empire, demonstrating that he struggled to reconcile liberty with empire. And the paper tries to offer his original contribution to history of discourse on empire. Burke regarded British Empire's problems after the Seven Years' War as unknown, and could not rely on the example of Roman, Greek, or even British colonies. In order to find the reason, the paper pays attention to Burke's perception that political sphere in empire of the seas is too vast for power and authority of imperial government to exercise enough. And the perception brought him distinction between state and empire, and plan of colonial self-government.