Keri Gilligan - Blog Post 2

    The United States undoubtedly influences nearly every corner of the world. It has set examples of what to do and what not to do, and can be categorized as one of the few great powers. The question then arises, is the United States an empire? And if it is, why doesn’t it want to be recognized as an empire? At first glance, the United States is not behaving like a traditional empire like the Roman Empire or British Empire, but when looked at closely, the United States partakes in practices that may resemble those of past empires. Following the class discussion about empires, I conclude that this argument comes down to an argument of definition when trying to break down whether or not the United States is an empire or not. As a class, we looked at empires in terms of their influence around the world and how countries act relative to said empire. In terms of the United States, this meant the number of  US troops around the world; regardless if there is an official contract stating their station. This is a form of direct control and power. Additionally, empire-like practices are seen through non-state actors like large American corporations that have factories overseas. This creates a direct impact on the people of that state since they are providing the labor for the corporations that will then bring in large profits elsewhere. 

The definition of what an empire is should have the ability to evolve overtime as power dynamics between different states are continuously shifting. This is important because it can serve to keep powerful countries like the United States and China in check of the control they obtain around the world. There has been a negative connotation towards what an empire is since the authoritarian history behind it, although in some ways regions of the empire had some autonomy. According to the Merriam-Webster definition, an empire is “a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority.” The United States would not fit this definition precisely, but it still has the ability to control other states and their behavior. One example of this would be the type of control that the United States has in Japan. After World War II, the United States got control over Japan to change its militaristic government to a democracy that has still been maintained. What I find even more impressive is that the United States has so many troops stationed there that it provides national security for Japan. It is important to note that Japan does have a self-defense force that is just as powerful as any military, but it does not have a formal military. This force deals with domestic issues and Japan gets a lot of their security from the United States. Additionally, it also allows Japan to have lower military spending. In this particular example, the United States does not have control over Japan’s government , but it has extreme power in terms of military protection. Overall, I see the United States resembling similar power that an empire has, but they choose not to recognize the type of influence it has since a lot of it is not in an authoritarian ruling.

Comments

  1. pols170 claire doyle blogOctober 5, 2021 at 12:52 PM

    I enjoyed talking about this topic in our class discussion. I have never really considered the United States to be, or compare to, an empire. After our discussion and your blog post it is so interesting to think about.

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