Welcome to Imperium Americana

Imperium Americana is a blog dedicated to the study and discussion of the American Empire.

History has seen many empires. The United States, referred to colloquially as America, is an empire. Albeit, the United States is a unique empire; one that runs counter to the intuitive thought of empires as evil. That is, empires, such as the short lived Empire of Nazi Germany (1933-1945) that acquire territory for the sake of grandiosity.

Rather, the description of the United States as an empire is better fitted to the term hegemon; a term from the Greek which means leader (ἡγεμονία hēgemonía). Historically, and in light of this definition, the The United States is a de facto hegemon or world leader. The Realist scholar of International Relations John Mearsheimer calls the United States a Great Power. The United States became a hegemon as a result of its triumphal situation following the end of World War II. At the time, the United States emerged with only one Great Power rival, the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). And, indeed, the United States and the USSR engaged in what is today referred to as the Cold War for about 45 years. The USSR fractured in 1992 and Russia emerged as the only truly rival military great power to the United States although its relative military strength was not on a par with the former USSR.

For many, the dissolution of the USSR meant the "End of History", the triumph of capitalism and democracy. As political philosopher Francis Fukuyama put it, "There is nothing else ideologically; as all else [historically] has failed. " However, Fukuyama was wrong; the 1990s was soon marred by genocides in Southern Europe (Balkans) and African countries. The 1990s gave place to the term failed states: states like Somalia and Afghanistan where government control ceased to exist. In the midst of this, the United States actually increased its security presence, although it did not military intervene in all such conflicts. After the terrorist attacks of September 2001, the United States found itself a true global hegemon, with military bases in every corner of the globe including some in the countries that once were part of the USSR.

Now the United States finds itself an empire, albeit, a reluctant one. Some world leaders do not like to admit it, despite their emphasis on nationalism and soveriegnty, that they want the United States to retain its security presence. Political Scientist Michael Mandelbaum describes the United States as the World's Goliath -- a necessary empire least the historical antagonisms between countries be released anew. Ironically, on the other hand, world public opinion is generally against a United States presence in their countries. This is a particularly difficult dilemma for politicians in democratic countries. Terrorist acts carried out by radical Moslem militants are not the acts of states but groups which are generally well supported by public opinion. If you do not believe this, then reread the world's newspapers after September 11, 2001. Reflecting public opinion, but not the elites' opinion, these newspapers said: "We Feel for You but You had it Coming."

On the homefront, the American Empire is costly. The economic hegemony of the United States is in a perilous state; it has been in decline since the mid-1970s. The United States is not the physically productive economy that is was before the end of the Vietnam Conflict in 1975 and the Oil Shocks of 1973 and 1979 perpertrated by OPEC as deliberate acts of rebellion against the United States and Western Europe. Western Europe learned its lesson and revised accordingly. The United States did not despite the pleas of President James "Jimmy" Carter whom the next President Ronald Reagan ridiculed as a wimp. President Barack "Barry" Obama has learned his history lesson well from this -- do not emulate President Carter at all costs.

Since the mid-1970s, Americans' standards of living has fallen precipitously. Dual incomes are the norm not out of greed but out of necessity. Beginning with the election of President Reagan in 1980 the United States has become increasingly conservative; the better term is reactionary. Political scientist Theodore Lowi outlines this in The End of Liberalism: The Second Republic of the United States (1979) as well as historian Thomas Frank in What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America (2004). You do not have to do much reading to know that physically productive industry in the United States has been in decline for some time now. The textile, steel and other similar industries were lost by the 1980s, and we are witnessing the end of the American automobile industry. As Frank illustrates the Republicans masterfully replaced reality, the decline of the U.S. physical economy, with nonsense social issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and zenophobia about illegal immigrants.

Why did we not see the severity of the decline? We did not see it because the productive physical economy was replaced by a pseudo economy built on personal services - tourism, fast food, etc.- and financial services. The other factor was an economy driven by suburban development. The creation of new homes and the moral promotion of home ownership by developers, interest groups, and the Republican Party. New homes need public services and conveniences and the developers were happy to provide. Sadly, this suburban development was done entirely in light of a continuing reliance on automobiles, which in turn was geopolitically predicated on the low price of oil. Continuous suburban development led to the illusion of growth, but most Americans were not getting wealthier.

Today, we face a dilemma unlike any we have encountered before in our history. How do we meet the demands of empire while taking care of our citizens at home? How do we maintain the empire and deal with a destructive budget deficit? Some say we should abandon our far flung military bases and retreat. Doing so, so says Mandelbaum and others, would create chaos by undermining the security ties provided by the presence of the United States. The leaders of most countries, despite their rhetoric, understand this. What is the connection of our security provision to global trade? How do we deal with an increasingly hostile public opinion of the United States in light of the need to maintain empire? Finally, the destruction of our productive physical economy has left the United States with one truly viable industry -- the military or war economy. Wars and more wars are needed to fuel this economy. This is not an exaggeration. President Eisenhower warned Americans about the need to mitigate a potentially dangerous "military industrial complex" in 1954.