The Shifting Status of the American Empire: A historical Overview - Essay Example

nclusive of territorial control as well as various forms of political, social, and economic influence.2 In essence, Eland suggests that the best definition of empire in today’s world must include the ability of a single country to employ coercive influence and to act as a hegemon, a country or state that is able to control the actions of others.3 It is this definition of empire that will be employed in this analysis of the American empire as it has developed since World War II and, as significantly, since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s after some four decades of a “cold war.

” To deeply examine the issues, this report will scrutinize what is the meaning of the present day United States Empire and how it is being implemented in relation to the many countries that the United States has helped. The advantages and disadvantages of a United States “technical” takeover of the economic and military establishments in many foreign governments is being studied. The argument to be advanced is that though the United States has had varying levels of hegemonic control in the period since World War II and despite the fact that there are ongoing threats to the security of this empire and American capacity to behave in an imperial manner, the United States remains a de facto empire today.

The theory of structural power use will serve as the foundation for this analysis. This project is based upon a qualitative, narrative, and historical case study. The methodology involves what is essentially an extensive but focused review of literature that traces the emergence of an American empire beginning with the end of World War II and continuing through the present day. The study is significant in that it synthesizes opinion and scholarly analysis of this topic. It provides an opportunity to assess the process by means of which the United States has established and maintained its empire and the threats posed against the United State’s geopolitical