Return to Empire: The New U.S. Imperialism in Comparative Historical Perspective

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Steinmetz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
British Imperialism ◽  
The Past ◽  
Imperial Power ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Political Spectrum

The widespread embrace of imperial terminology across the political spectrum during the past three years has not led to an increased level of conceptual or theoretical clarity around the word “empire.” There is also disagreement about whether the United States is itself an empire, and if so, what sort of empire it is; the determinants of its geopolitical stance; and the effects of “empire as a way of life” on the “metropole.” Using the United States and Germany in the past 200 years as empirical cases, this article proposes a set of historically embedded categories for distinguishing among different types of imperial practice. The central distinction contrasts territorial and nonterritorial types of modern empire, that is, colonialism versus imperialism. Against world-system theory, territorial and nonterritorial approaches have not typi-cally appeared in pure form but have been mixed together both in time and in the repertoire of individual metropolitan states. After developing these categories the second part of the article explores empire's determinants and its effects, again focusing on the German and U.S. cases but with forays into Portuguese and British imperialism. Supporters of overseas empire often couch their arguments in economic or strategic terms, and social theorists have followed suit in accepting these expressed motives as the “taproot of imperialism” (J. A. Hobson). But other factors have played an equally important role in shaping imperial practices, even pushing in directions that are economically and geopolitically counterproductive for the imperial power. Postcolonial theorists have rightly empha-sized the cultural and psychic processes at work in empire but have tended to ignore empire's effects on practices of economy and its regulation. Current U.S. imperialism abroad may not be a danger to capitalism per se or to America's overall political power, but it is threatening and remaking the domestic post-Fordist mode of social regulation.

A Humanistic Approach to Outreach: Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants

1991 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-16
Author(s):  
David Rymph ◽  
Linda Little
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
The United States ◽  
Illegal Immigrants ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Past ◽  
Humanistic Approach ◽  
The U.S

Washington, D.C., like many major cities in the U.S., has experienced a large influx of illegal immigrants in the past decade. Hundreds of thousands of Hispanics have entered the United States, many of them fleeing from the political violence in Guatemala and El Salvador. The Washington metropolitan area may have as many as 80,000 refugees from El Salvador alone.

Discussants' Reactions

1962 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-129
Author(s):  
James Bowen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Atomic Bomb ◽  
The United States ◽  
American People ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
American Way

The past few years have been particularly troublesome for the American people, not the least of the worries being a concern with the Russian challenge to the American way of life. The incredible successes of the Russians in orbiting satellites and exploding nuclear weapons has been both a disturbing and a sobering thought to the United States, long secure in its isolation and power, and in the belief that it was the best society on earth. More than a decade ago an enduring Pax Americana based upon the unilateral possession of the atomic bomb disappeared; with the launching of various Sputniki since 1958 morale has dropped even lower.

The Political Theory Implicit in Social Casework Theory

1953 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1076-1091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Keith-Lucas
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The political theory implicit in social casework theory can be defined, for purposes of this discussion, as the theory of the relationship between man and society on which professional social casework is consciously predicated, or that theory of the relationship which is logically implied by social casework practice. This theory is not often consciously articulated and we must look for it, therefore, in those presuppositions underlying casework theory which are frequently accepted uncritically, if not wholly unconsciously. This practice obviously cannot be carried on without basic (although perhaps not entirely conscious) presuppositions about what man is like and consequently about what society can or ought to do for him.The presuppositions underlying social casework theory, although important in any context, have acquired a new significance to the extent that social casework has increasingly become a government function. During the past twenty years literally millions of people in the United States have been brought into a new relationship with officials of their local, state, and national governments—namely, the relationship of client and social caseworker.

The Revolution Under Raúl

2019 ◽  
pp. 151-164
Author(s):  
Anna Clayfield
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
High Importance ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
The Way ◽  
The Revolution

This chapter investigates the on-going legacy of the guerrilla struggle between 2006 and 2018, the period of Raúl Castro’s tenure as Cuban President. It argues that, while many foreign commentators viewed the political, social, and economic change of these years as evidence that the Revolution and its socialist model were on the way out, the discursive phenomenon of guerrillerismo still very much anchored it in the past. Such an anchor remained of high importance to the leadership at a time of not only domestic upheaval but also shifting relations with its long-standing enemy to the north: the United States.

America’s Deprioritization of Allies

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub J. Grygiel ◽  
A. Wess Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Past

This chapter traces the deterioration that has occurred in the foundations of America's relations with many of its longest-standing allies over the past few years, both through a weakening of the political bonds with Washington and through diplomatic and military probes at the hands of U.S. rivals. In recent years, the United States has been tempted to ignore the historic need for strong alliances. On closer examination, there are deeply rooted sources of the American temptation to deprioritize alliances. Geography, technology, and ideology tempt them to think that they do not need allies to compete effectively in global geopolitics. In addition, in recent years domestic political pressures have emerged that generate doubts about U.S. overseas commitments. The Obama administration's rhetoric and actions—partly a reflection of these pressures—have been perceived as downgrading the importance of allies.

THE RACIAL UNCONSCIOUS OF ASSIMILATION THEORY1

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moon-Kie Jung
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Latin America ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Assimilation Theory ◽  
Segmented Assimilation ◽  
Oppositional Culture ◽  
National Belonging ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Caribbean

AbstractIn the past two decades, migration scholars have revised and revitalized assimilation theory to study the large and growing numbers of migrants from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean and their offspring in the United States. Neoclassical and segmented assimilation theories seek to make sense of the current wave of migration that differs in important ways from the last great wave at the turn of the twentieth century and to overcome the conceptual shortcomings of earlier theories of assimilation that it inspired. This article examines some of the central assumptions and arguments of the new theories. In particular, it undertakes a detailed critique of their treatment of race and finds that they variously engage in suspect comparisons to past migration from Europe; read out or misread the qualitatively different historical trajectories of European and non-European migrants; exclude native-born Blacks from the analysis; fail to conceptually account for the key changes that are purported to facilitate “assimilation”; import the dubious concept of the “underclass” to characterize poor urban Blacks and others; laud uncritically the “culture” of migrants; explicitly or implicitly advocate the “assimilation” of migrants; and discount the political potential of “oppositional culture.” Shifting the focus fromdifferencetoinequalityanddomination, the article concludes with a brief proposal for reorienting our theoretical approach, fromassimilationto thepolitics of national belonging.

scholarly journals Nostalgia for the Lost Homeland as Part of Identity in Alė Rūta’s Works

2018 ◽  
pp. 97-108
Author(s):  
Ingrida Eglė Žindžiuvienė
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Short Stories ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Native Land ◽  
The Past ◽  
Different Types

The article examines the representation of nostalgic memory of the lost homeland, Lithuania, in the Lithuanian diaspora writer’s, Alė Rūta’s (1915-2011), trilogy called “The Destiny of the Exiled”, which consists of the novels Pirmieji svetur (1984; Eng. - The First Abroad), Daigynas (1987; Eng. – The Seedling Plot), and Skamba tolumoj (1997; Eng. Echoes from Afar). These novels describe the multilayered problems of Lithuanian immigration into the U.S.A. and life of the immigrants there. Alė Rūta (Elena Nakaitė-Arbienė) is a well-known Lithuanian author, most of whose works (novels and collections of short stories and poems, all written in the Lithuanian language) have been published by the publishers of Lithuanian diaspora in the United States of America. The trauma of the loss of the native land results in the transmitted nostalgia in her novels. The author both mourns over the lost homeland and shares with the readers her grief over this loss and longing for seeing it again. In doing this, Alė Rūta echoes the nostalgic voices of many immigrants, who left their native country at different periods. The article also discusses the issue of preservation of ethnic identity, which is constructed on nostalgic and often melancholic memories of the past, and explores different types of nostalgia, which forms a core of Alė Rūta’s trilogy.

scholarly journals Friendly Persuasion is Not Enough: The Limits of the Lansdale Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Ladwig
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Past ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
Major Impediment

Providing aid and advice to local governments’ counterinsurgency campaigns, rather than directly intervening with American forces, has recently been identified as a more cost-effective way to counter irregular threats to U.S. interests. The challenge that such undertakings have repeatedly faced in the past is that partner governments often have their own interests and priorities which can diverge significantly from those of Washington. Consequently, a host of observers have pointed out that while the United States has provided its partners with extensive assistance to combat insurgents and terrorist groups, an inability to convince them to adopt its counterinsurgency prescriptions or address what Washington sees as the political and economic “root causes” of a conflict has repeatedly emerged as a major impediment to success. In the absence of sufficient influence to convince a local government to address these shortcomings, critics suggest that significant American aid and support can actually reduce its incentives to address domestic discontent or govern inclusively, which can render a supported regime less stable than it would have been without U.S. assistance

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