| Until
recently, most commentators and many historians refused to apply the concept
of empire to the United States of America. In the last few years, however,
historical writing on the history of American empire has undergone a surge.
Since September 11, 2001, scholars ranging from such broad ideological
backgrounds as Niall Ferguson, Deepak Lal, Andrew Bacevitch, Michael Mann,
David Harvey, and Chalmers Johnson have examined, celebrated, and criticized
the rise of a new American empire. Given this new appeal of empire, some
of these leading scholars have even gained popular appeal as talking heads
in the national media.
Charles
Maier's Among Empires: American Ascendancy and Its Predecessors
fits into this new historiographical mold on the writing of empire. The
premise of Maier's book is, however, different from its predecessors.
Unlike the above mentioned authors, Maier's main concern is not to provide
an answer to the question of whether the United States is an empire, and
whether as an empire it is a positive or negative force. Instead Maier
argues that "[i]t is time to examine what empires are and what they do
and whether the United States has come to share the traits and behavior
that marked the others." The book "compares some of the recurring elements
of empires and asks to what extent the United States shares these attributes
and what are some of the possible consequences for our political choices."(3)
Part
one provides a theoretical discussion. Chapter one raises such issues
as what is an empire? What differentiates an empire from a state? How
does the United States fit the profile of an empire? What are the structures
of empire? Chapter two examines the centrality, function, and typology
of frontiers or borders. Chapter three explores the use of violence by
empires and the various theories that rationalized and intellectualized
its use in history.
In
part two, Maier applies his theoretical observations about empire to the
United States, and examines how America ascended to become what he interchangeably
describes as an empire, hegemon, super- or hyper-power at the end of World
War II. "American ascendancy" at that time, Maier writes, "was based in
part upon 'Fordist' organization of economic activity as well as on possession
of weapons of mass destruction."(145) In chapter four he maintains that,
like previous empires, the American- dominated international system had
to protect its frontiers. It did so through the use of "non-ultimate weapons"
as well as nuclear weaponry. Chapter 5 describes the United States as
an "empire of production," which diffused "mass industrial capitalism."(191)
American power was based on the "productivity of its land, industrial
capital, and labor." (214) By the 1960s, however, Maier argues, "American
foreign aid tended to run down its own advantages, and by the 1960s the
changing balance of merchandise trade reflected this outcome."(225) Thus
it was in the 1970s that the United States switched from being an "empire
of production" to being an "empire of consumption" based on supply side
economics and deficits financed by foreigners. This transition was accompanied
by cuts to the welfare state, the fall of communism, and the "revival
of religious commitments."(250)
Many
world history teachers will be disappointed with the strong emphasis that
Among Empires puts on the western world, especially in the second
part of the book. While Maier is not blind to developments in the non-western
world, they play only a marginal role in his narrative. Some readers will
also take issue with the fact that the specific discussion of empire in
part two largely focuses on the post World War II world. Maier seems to
imply that the colonization of Native American lands, the Philippines,
and other events are disconnected from "American ascendancy" as an empire
in the twentieth century. This argument could have used further development
and explanation.
Instructors
and readers who are looking to find connecting themes between American
and world history in Maier's book will be disappointed. They might be
better served by reading Thomas Bender's Nation among Nations or
Carl Guarneri's America in the World. Instructors looking to brush
up on their Cold War history or with a strong interest in the history
of global empire, however, might find the book valuable for background
reading. For instructional purposes, Among Empires would work well
in an upper level undergraduate or graduate seminar on the Cold War or
on empire.
|
|
