Waiting for the Barbarians

The expansion of empire is the central theme of the novel. Imperialism is the complete subjugation of local, usually Indigenous, peoples through military and financial coercion. An empire, like the one in the novel, exists to enrich its ruling class at the expense of the people it subjugates. Colonialism is a form of settler imperialism where the members of the ruling nation settle on the land of the Indigenous population and rule over them. The settlement outpost in the novel signals the physical reach of the Empire. While the novel does not explicitly state why the settlement exists, or what the primary motivation was for the expansion in the first place (whether it was for resource exploitation or some other purpose), the cultural footprint of the Empire is nonetheless large and growing and serves as motivation in and of itself.

The novel explores the binary of empire versus Indigenous people. Part of the nature of the Empire is a strong xenophobia and prejudice against those not part of it. This bias against others is an enabling force, and when ugly and cruel behavior is unleashed on those suspected of being the enemy, there is no resistance from the Empire’s citizens.