Vote totals:
Yes:
0%
No:
100%
Neutral:
0%
DEBATE: THE UNITED STATES HAS BECOME MORE THAN JUST A HEGEMON; IT HAS BECOME AN EMPIRE.
THE UNITED STATES HAS BECOME MORE THAN JUST A HEGEMON; IT HAS BECOME AN EMPIRE.
Unequal relationships
The first feature of an empire is that it involves unequal relationships between the imperial power and the society it controls. The current international climate shows this to be true of America; it is effectively the world leader. It has taken on the international responsibility of setting global standards, determining threats, and using forces to see out its justice.
The establishment of international institutions has meant that no one country can be seen as a world leader. Collectively, 191 member-states of the United Nations are in a stronger position to set global standards and to monitor the international system than America is on its own.
THE UNITED STATES HAS BECOME MORE THAN JUST A HEGEMON; IT HAS BECOME AN EMPIRE.
Coercion
Coercion is the second feature. Whilst there is cooperation between America and the countries it controls, this is always underlined by some form of a threat; whether it be economic or even the threat of force. Economically, for a country to break with America could be disasterous, and so, no subject states are in a position to do this.
The Bush Doctrine highlights the possibility of a physical threat:
"We cannot defend America and our friends by hoping for the best. We cannot put our faith in the word of tyrants, who solemnly sign non-proliferation treaties, and then systematically break them. If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited to long". (Bush)
This statement demonstrates that for America, you are either a friend of a tyrant. Other countries are, therefore, under threat to remain aligned with America or risk the threat of action. The current ‘War on Terror’ shows that America will intervene if it believes a country to oppose its ideals.
Globalisation has meant that economies across the world have become increasingly connected and, as the worlds largest, America’s economy is particularly influential for many parts of the world. However, it is by no means an over-whelming force. The European Union is extremely powerful as a block and the economies of China and India are growing at a rate that will soon challenge the US.
Millitarily, developments in weaponery mean that the US is less able to use the threat of force. The presence of nuclear weapons in many parts of the world mean that the US would itself be under serious threat should it seek to attack a nuclear state.
THE UNITED STATES HAS BECOME MORE THAN JUST A HEGEMON; IT HAS BECOME AN EMPIRE.
Clash of civilisations
A third characteristic of an empire is the presence of ethnic, national, religious or racial differences between the imperial power and its empire. This is clearly the case with America. An easy way to see how far the American empire stretches is by examining the locations of its military bases. They not only exist in North America, but also South America, in large parts of Europe, Asia and Australasia.
The presence of a foreign military base does not suggest that a country is under the control of an imperial power. To be part of an empire a country must be controlled, not just influenced by another state. All of America’s allies are completely sovereign and may remain aligned it soley because it is benefitial to do so, not because it is forced to do so.
THE UNITED STATES HAS BECOME MORE THAN JUST A HEGEMON; IT HAS BECOME AN EMPIRE.
Territory
Although it does not seek to acquire other territories, it does seek to manipulate and shape that territory in its own image.
The United States cannot be seen as an empire as it does not seek to acquire the territory of others. Other than the 50 states that make up the USA, it actually owns very little.
THE UNITED STATES HAS BECOME MORE THAN JUST A HEGEMON; IT HAS BECOME AN EMPIRE.
Purely millitary
America can be seen to hold ‘soft power’ as well as raw military or economic force. American culture can now be found spread across all parts of the globe through its styles of music, cinema, food, sport, etc. It is effectively global ‘Americanisation’.
Whilst the United States may be superior in terms of its millitary capabilities, this is not the only factor that enters in to empire-economics. Technology; ideology; and religion are other areas that must be considered. The US is not a soley dominant influence in these other areas.
THE UNITED STATES HAS BECOME MORE THAN JUST A HEGEMON; IT HAS BECOME AN EMPIRE.
Empire: an unworkable principle.
As the war in Iraq has shown, even if the international community attempts to prevent the US from doing something, it is not actually capable of stopping it. The UN dubbed America’s invasion of Iraq as illegal, but it could not prevent the invasion due to America’s economic and military power.
Globalisation, the growth of NGO’s, developments in weaponery and the establishment international institutions are all factors that have made the concept of ‘empire’ unworkable in todays political climate.
The economic power of NGO’s leaves them capable of swiftly turning around America’s fortunes. The US is also unable to take any millitary action against other countries that now posses nuclear weapons, as it would itself be under threat. Globalisation and the emergence of international institutions, such as the UN, mean that the international community is now able to work as a collective and to limit the behaviours of all countries; including the US.
This current climate leaves hegemony as a more plausible, stable and potentially beneficial system of order than empire.
