A democratic empire is a political state which conducts its internal affairs democratically (i.e. with respect for its citizens and their collective will) but externally its policies have a striking resemblance to imperial

Empire

The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....

 rule.

Democratic imperialism as such may in fact be a contradiction in terms as empire expresses itself with aggression abroad and repression at home. The concept of a democratic empire can likewise be an instrument of social control

Social control

Social control refers generally to societal and political mechanisms or processes that regulate individual and group behavior, leading to conformity and compliance to the rules of a given society, state, or social group. Many mechanisms of social control are cross-cultural, if only in the control...

 as with ideology

Ideology

An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...

 and ideological conditioning generally. Example of empires that have been described in this way are the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 and the United States of America based on some of its foreign affairs history (see American Empire).